Forbidden Love
by Dolphinz514
Summary: Roy and Riza grew up together, since they've been very little, improving their relationship to that of a best friend's. Inseperable, they thought nothing could come between them, but how long will that thought last?
1. Training

**Chapter One:**

**Training**

Drenched with sweat, palms sweaty and legs shaking, the young, dark-haired alchemist collapsed on the floor, panting hard from all of the extremely difficult training he had just gone through. His dark piercing eyes started to water, due to the salty sweat pouring into them, causing him to cry a little. He couldn't help crying, for he was only the age of nine, but he couldn't cry in front of his alchemist teacher, or he would be punished for "being so weak" as his teacher would call it. The small first-degree burns on his hands and face were also no help to how this young boy was feeling. Wiping the sweat as well as the tears from his eyes, he could feel the shadow and presence of his strict alchemy teacher looming over him. The young alchemist looked up to meet the harsh green-eyed gaze of his teacher, Berthold Hawkeye.

"Are you crying?"exclaimed Berthold as he looked at his young apprentice. The training today seemed much harder than normal, so the scolding didn't do much help to the boys mixed emotions.

The boy didn't know how to respond, but instead continued staring into the eyes of his mentor. He knew he had to admit to his "weakness"of crying eventually, but he didn't want to be scolded or punished so harshly for doing so. Berthold switched positions, motioning his patience was growing smaller and smaller waiting for the answer from his apprentice.

"Well?"questioned Berthold again, getting very upset with the boy's lack of tolerance for such harsh training. "What's the answer? It sure looked like you were crying to me, but I want _you_ to tell me. Were you crying or not?"

Knowing that the longer he sat there, procrastinating his answer, the more painful the punishment would be.

"Y-Yes, master Hawkeye. I was," replied the dark-haired apprentice. He looked down at his knees, and nearly started to cry again.

"I don't believe this,"continued the mentor, his anger obviously rising to dangerous levels. "I've had enough with this weakness of yours! You're parent's died, therefore you had to live with your aunt before she went to jail, and now you're living with me, because you wanted me to teach you alchemy. What am I going to do with you?"

Remembering the painful thoughts of his terrible foster mother, his aunt Chris, scared him even more. It was even worse when the memories of his loving mother and wonderful, caring father entered his mind, and he could no longer contain his trapped emotions. Tears began flowing down his cheeks, and streamed onto his lap.

"That's it!" screamed Berthold. "I've had it with you!"

The young alchemist was now extremely terrified, and his terror even grew worse when his mentor grabbed his upper arm and yanked him up to his feet. He knew what was coming, and it would sting even worse with the fresh burns still placed upon his baby-faced visage. He felt the strong, huge, muscular hand strike him across the face, knocking him to the cold and damp ground. Sorrowful and painful tears had now soaked his shirt around the front of his neck, and the apprentice continued to lay there, knowing if he got up, he would be punished for "refusal against punishments."

"We'll start training again in two days at sunset. I won't be here tomorrow; I'll be in a important meeting with a very important alchemist, and I can't miss this opportunity to become important as well,"explained Berthold, now a little calmer since he had dealt with his "problem."

The young boy laid there until the footsteps of his alchemy teacher had faded away down the hall. Once they had disappeared, he attempted to get up, but failing, instead crawled a little ways across the floor and leaned himself against a stoned wall that was closest to him.

_What did I ever do wrong? _He thought to himself, letting all of his emotions take over his entire body. He wanted to cry some more, but he had been completely drained and was simply to exhausted to shed another single tear. On top of that, his legs hurt too bad that he felt like he couldn't walk, let alone stand. There was no way he was going to make the trip to his comfy bed.

Almost asleep, the young alchemist heard a scuffling of small footsteps behind where we was placed leaning against a wall, earning all of his attention. No longer tired, he turned to see his mentor's six-year-old daughter with dirty blonde hair, staring at him. Her cheeks were a bright red, as if she had been crying for almost what it seems like an hour. Her hands were covering her quivering mouth, and started to let loose of her tears once again, obviously very upset about something. As if she couldn't stand staring into is eyes any longer, she raced towards her father's apprentice and knelt at his side.

"I saw the whole thing, Roy!"she sobbed, gazing into her friends eyes. "I can't believe he pushed you that far! And when you started crying, I knew my father was going to slap you, and I wanted to rush to you and stop him, but I couldn't for some reason. My fears of you being hurt scared me too much, it didn't allow my feet to move a single step! I started to cry even harder when I realized you had so many burns on your hands and face from trying to learn that cursed Flame Alchemy, and he hurt you again anyways! I'm so sorry I wasn't able to do anything!"

Roy didn't know how to respond to his friend's confessions of how horrible she felt watching the entire scene unfold right before very eyes. He hadn't even known she had been present for some of his daily training courses. He knew how she felt about Flame Alchemy, and that it was very dangerous as well as a complicated alchemy to learn. Roy also knew that there was no way he would ever give up Flame Alchemy, for he wanted to help people someday, somewhere. Knowing this was difficult for his best friend to understand, he delicately seized her hand in his, and gazed into her eyes.

"Riza, don't worry about me. I appreciate you wanting to help, but if you do, you'll end up getting hurt as well," explained Roy. It was hard saying this to his best friend, especially when he secretly desired for her help, but knowing protecting her was his main priority right now. "I'll be fine, believe me. You are my best friend, and I know you will always be there for me."

Riza looked up to meet her best friend's kind and warm eyes. Her warmly-colored dark hazelnut brown eyes appeared to be locked into his piercing black eyes, and she couldn't look away. She had known Roy Mustang for only eight months, and yet he was her best and closest friend.

"And I promise, that I will always be there for you"continued Roy.

For only being nine years old, Roy Mustang seemed like such a wise, mature and caring person. Riza couldn't help but blush a little, and she knew that her friend would keep this promise.

"Come on, Roy, I'll help you to your bed,"Riza offered.

Doing his best to stand on his feet on his own, Roy walked to his bed, with the support of his ultimate friend. He knew that his promise he had just made to Riza, and he would keep it forever, for nothing, not even her father's cruelty and harshness, could tear them apart.


	2. A Friendly Visit

**Chapter Two:**

**A Friendly Visit**

Roy woke in his bed, noticing there was a small rain shower last night and the sky was still holding it's color of a lighter shade of charcoal gray. He sat up and looked over towards Riza's bed, seeing that she was still asleep. Due to the lack of enough rooms for the three people living in the Hawkeye home, Roy was crammed into the room with Riza, but she didn't mind. As he sat there watching her sleep, it reminded him of one of the fond memories he had experienced living with Riza and her father, Berthold.

It was a couple years ago when Riza had caught a horrible cold, the worst that Roy had ever seen. She would have major coughing fits, and sometimes she even coughed up blood. She was scared that the cold she had was going to get much worse.

"Roy, what if my cold doesn't get better?"questioned the terrified Riza. "Wha-What if I die?"

Roy let out a small chuckle upon hearing that his friend was so terrified of losing her life to a nasty cold.

"Riza, I have _never_ heard of any cases where someone had died from a cold,"stated Roy. "I highly doubt that you are going to die. Besides, I wouldn't let you die anyways. There's no way I'm going to live my life without my best friend."

Riza stared at her friend's dark eyes and was surprisingly shocked to hear the apprentice of her father call her his best friend. Blushing a little, Riza pounced on Roy, giving him a warm hug. Not expecting this, Roy also blushed a little, then hugged her back.

"Thanks, Roy,"Riza said smiling. "You are my best friend, too,"and she fell asleep softly in his arms.

_That's when we started to get really close._ Roy thought to himself, replaying the memory in his head. Rubbing his eyes, he winced from the burns on his face that he had just accidentally rubbed. He stood up, and walked to the mirror in their room. Roy saw the burns, then noticed the huge welt on his left cheek from his punishment the previous night. He touched the welt, and cringed due to how bruised and how painful it was. He estimated it would take at least two weeks to finally heal.

"Roy?"called Riza, now slightly awake. Seeing Roy stare into the mirror, she was a little worried at how bad his baby face might be. "Are you all right?"

Upon hearing his name, Roy turned around. Riza gasped and jumped out of her bed when she had seen the massive welt on his cheek. She reached up to touch it, but reeled her hand back after Roy had moved his head back so she couldn't touch it.

_It hurts that bad? _Riza thought to herself. _I can't believe he takes all of this without complaining once to my father or me. _

"H-How badly does it hurt?"Riza prodded, wanting to see if she could be any assistance to her friend's slow healing.

"A little, but I can't really feel it,"Roy answered. "but please don't touch it; it hurts much worse when you do."

Roy understood that Riza wanted to help him, and he knew that she could. For being only the age of six, she was skilled in making medicines for bruises, burns and welts. She had only learned how to do so because of the punishments that Roy receives during some of his training. Riza wanted to protect him as much as he wanted to protect her.

"Okay. Is there a little medicine I can make to help your burns?"offered Riza, now feeling a little bit better hearing the confidence from Roy on how his welt feels.

"No thanks, Riza. These burns aren't as bad as ones I've gotten before,"stated Roy. "but thank you so much for caring."Roy smiled at Riza, and she smiled back. He was grateful for such a wonderful friend that he had been blessed with, regardless of his difficult life in the past.

"How is your alchemy doing?"Riza wondered, sitting on Roy's bed.

Roy sat down next to her while he thought about his answer. Honestly, his alchemy wasn't doing to bad, but he can't practice that often because it hurts his hands after a while. With his esteem and confidence in himself steadily going down due to thinking about his alchemy skills, Roy sighed and looked at Riza.

"It's going along okay, but I feel like I can do much better,"answered Roy. "I'm letting myself down, and I want to be the best alchemist I can be, but how can I do that when I hardly believe in myself?"

Roy wanted to believe in himself, but the cruelty of his mentor, Berthold, doesn't always allow him too. Berthold is always putting him down, then claims it will someday make him stronger. He isn't sure what to believe.

Riza watched her friend beat himself up about not having enough self esteem. She knew what to do about her best friend's dilemma.

"Come on, Roy,"said Riza. "I know just the guy that can cheer you up and give you a confidence boost!"

Roy smiled and looked at Riza, knowing exactly who she was talking about. She was talking about going to see him, and since Berthold was out of the house today, they could do just that.

"Alright," Roy chuckled. "Let's go say 'hi'. I've been wanting to see him for a long time now."

"I know!"Riza agreed. "We haven't seem him in almost two months! He'll be wondering where we have been."

They both got dressed and headed out the front door of the Hawkeye estate. They headed east for about two blocks to get the home of their other best friend. It started to rain again, and fortunately, Riza brought an umbrella. She set it up, and placed it above her head as well as Roy's.

"When you get really good at Flame Alchemy, and it's raining one day,"said Riza smiling. "I'm going to hold an umbrella over you so you don't get wet!"

Roy laughed at the thought of them being somewhere in their teenage years or early twenties and Riza is holding an umbrella over his head, just so he can use his Flame Alchemy.

"That will be pretty funny!" Roy agreed.

They had finally reached their destination, and Roy knocked on the door. They stood on the porch waiting for either their friend to answer the door, or his mother. They heard the doorknob turn, and they looked up to see it was their friend who answered. The young boy had a square, more defined face compared to Roy's baby-faced visage. His amber-green eyes seemed to smile as much as the young boy does himself. He hard dark, black hair that was slightly spiked up, and one strand of hair flowed upward and away from his face, almost like a horn. He wore small gray glasses that gave the boy a intellectual, smart and casual look, despite his young age of nine.

"Roy, Riza, what are you doing here?"asked the young boy happily. "I haven't seen you in nearly three months!"

"Has it really been that long, Maes?" asked Riza. "I thought it was only two months."

Maes Hughes just laughed, glad to finally see his friends again.

"Either way,"replied Maes. "it's been a long time. Please come in you guys! My mom isn't home right now; she's out shopping for a while."

"Thanks, Maes," said Roy. He was glad to see his other best friend after so long. Maes always made him feel better whenever he had some doubts about himself.

They sat on the couch in the Hughes' living room, and began discussing how each of their lives has been. Hughes noticed the giant welt on Roy's left cheek, and was worried about what had happened.

"Uh, your face there, Roy,"started Maes. "What happened to your face?"

Roy met the concerned gaze of his friend and began to replay the events of last night over and over in his head. He became scared once more, and couldn't find the words to answer, but instead sat there, staring at Maes for almost three minutes before Riza interrupted.

"Um, Maes, my father is what happened,"Riza said slowly and carefully. "Roy is still a little shaken from last night's training."

"That man makes me angry,"Maes stated folding his arms and crossing his legs. "I am still not sure why you refuse to come live with us, Roy. You know my mom would let you live with us."

Roy appreciated the offer his friend had given him multiple times, but he couldn't accept it. It would get in the way of his alchemy sessions, and regardless of the cruelty of the teacher, he had to finish all of his training. This was one of his main goals.

"I really do appreciate your offer, Maes,"replied Roy. "but I can't accept. I need to finish my Flame Alchemy training, and I won't stop until I do. I don't care if I have a mean and cruel teacher, I'm finishing my training, and that's all there is to it."

Maes and Riza glanced at each other, both not quite sure how to respond to their friend's decisions. Riza turned her head back to Roy, and Maes did the same thing.

"And I will support you all the way, Roy,"promised Riza. "You said that you will always be there for me, and I got your back all the way through."

"Same here, Roy Boy,"agreed Maes, smiling as he called Roy by his nickname he had created specifically for him. "I'll be here for you whenever you need me, and I'll be there for you!"

Roy smiled and gazed into both of his best friends' eyes. He was again grateful for the two best friends that anybody could ask for.

"Thanks guys. I really appreciate it,"Roy said back.

It was nearly time for Riza and Roy to leave, for Berthold was going to be back in about half and hour, so they stood up and put their jackets back on and was about ready to head out the door before Maes stopped them.

"Hey guys, let's do our handshake!"exclaimed Maes as he extended a hand towards Roy and Riza.

Roy and Riza smiled as they laid their hands on top of Maes'. They lowered their hands to the level of their waists, and chanted their handshake 'motto'.

"Friends forever, and for eternity!"they all yelled as they raised their hands high above their heads ready to stand together against anything in their way.


	3. A Decision To Make

**Chapter Three:**

**A Decision To Make**

A couple years had passed since Roy had fully mastered the technique of Flame Alchemy, and it felt nice to finally have it all taken care of. Berthold had died a couple years ago, but since Roy was nearly seventeen and Riza nearly fourteen, they decided that they could manage on their own. Riza had taken some gun managing courses so she could use a pistol properly without hurting herself as well as others around her. There was only one reason to why she was taking these classes, and that was for protection. Roy was planning on getting into the military, so he could help people professionally. Riza felt that she should learn to use a gun, so she could stay safe while Roy was away.

The thought of Roy possibly getting into the military scared Riza. She knew that he would be in danger, but she felt more at ease knowing that Maes was also trying to get into the military. If they both made it in, she would be happy for them, but she would miss them both, terribly, especially Roy. She had grown much closer to her best friend, and she hated being even a second apart from him. She wasn't sure how she would manage being without him for about twenty years, or even possibly the rest of her life.

She wanted to tell Roy about how she felt letting him go to the military and leaving her behind, but she didn't want to influence his decision. This was something that he felt like he needed to do, so she didn't want to get in his way.

"So, uh, my test for the military is tomorrow,"started Roy. "Do you want to come and watch my 'audition'?"

Roy also didn't want to leave without Riza, but he couldn't let her come; it would be too unsafe for her, and he knew that she would be safe staying at home. Being in the military was something he needed to do, to help fulfill his desire of helping people. He turned towards Riza to gaze in her eyes, which were showing an obvious amount of unhappiness. This made Roy curious as to why she could be so upset.

"Uh, sure,"replied Riza hesitantly. "I would love to come and support you. What are best friends for?"She dropped her gaze as she sat on her bed. She wanted to just scream out to Roy that she doesn't want him to die out there, let alone go into the military. She was afraid of hearing that he would never return.

"What's bothering you?"pondered Roy. He knew his best friend very well, so he knew that she was upset about something. "Is something on your mind?"

Riza didn't respond right away, not because she didn't want to, but because she didn't know how to.

"No,"Riza responded. "I'm alright."

"Alright, what's up?"Roy asked again. "I know you too well to know when you are lying to me, and I know you are lying now. Why won't you tell me what's wrong?"

Riza couldn't meet the gaze of her best friend. She instead looked the opposite way a little more so Roy couldn't see the tears starting to fall down her cheeks. She felt a hand on her right shoulder, and heard Roy's voice once more.

"Tell me, what's bothering you,"prodded Roy once more. "I hate it when you're upset, because I love to see you happy and smiling all the time. What is wrong? Please tell me; I won't be upset or angry with what you have to say."

Riza turned her body around and finally met the gaze of her best friend.

"I'm scared,"Riza answered finally. "Scared that you will leave, but never come back. I don't want to lose my best friend, Roy."

Roy didn't know what to say to his sobbing friend. He slid his hand down her right arm and trapped her hand into his. He stared back into her eyes, and seeing how scared she was, he became a little scared himself.

"Nothing is going to happen to me, I can assure you that,"Roy admitted. "I am going to come home someday, and be wrapped in your welcoming arms again. You are my best friend, Riza. I can't let anything happen to me, so I can make sure that nothing will ever happen to you."

Roy lifted his hand up to Riza's face and placed some of her hair behind her right ear. Riza still looked very upset, regardless of Roy's attempted comfort. He stole a quick glance at the clock to see it was twenty minutes until midnight.

"It's late,"Roy stated. "Why don't we both get to bed?"

Riza nodded as Roy walked across the room to his bed. The things that he had just said to her made her feel a little bit better, but she still felt desperate for him to stay. She pulled the covers over her shoulders, and placed her head onto her soft pillow.

"Good night, Roy,"Riza said through the dark room.

"Good night, Riza,"Roy answered back, a little relieved to hear her voice a little less tense than before. "Sleep well."

Riza collapsed on the ground in an alley way, panting due to running for almost a mile. She held her pistol up to her face, ready to fire in case something was there, ready as well to harm her. She had seen what it seemed like a whole battlefield in the span of the previous twenty-four hours. A huge ball of flame summoned at one point after the snap of some fingers, and at another point some young boy with long blonde hair and topaz like eyes was running alongside a tall suit of metal down a vacant street. The suit and the boy were chasing after a tall man who had an X-shaped scar with blood dripping down from his hands. She wasn't sure how she got there, or how exactly this all happened, but she went along with it all anyways.

She stood up, glanced behind her down the dark alley way, and entered out into the street. No one was in sight, allowing her to head down the street towards where all of the commotion had started that morning. Feeling the urge to run, Riza broke into a run and ended stepping into a giant mud puddle, splashing mud all over her uniform. Looking down at the mud on her clothes, she realized her wardrobe was way different from her normal attire. It was a military uniform, which was odd, because Riza wasn't in the military.

_What is going on? _She thought. _Why am I in a military uniform? _Puzzled, Riza continued inspecting the clothes that she was wearing. She took off the jacket to see if there was a name sewn beneath the tag, which is what the clothing makers do in the military. Riza read the name, and gasped.

"_Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye"_was what was sewn into the back of her jacket. Riza stood there in amazement and wasn't quite sure how to react to what she was seeing.

_What on Earth? _She continued to think about what was going on, and couldn't come up to a sensible conclusion. _I don't understand how this can be my jacket. _Riza thought some more.

Her deep and concerned thoughts were loudly interrupted by a dog's bark. Riza turned around to see a black and white Shiba Inu staring at her. The dog was followed by a dark figure, and when the figure reached the stream of light under a lamp post, Riza could see his face. It looked like an older Roy, which confused her most of all. The Shiba Inu barked and pounced on Riza, knocking her to the ground without a warning. The dog started to lick her face, as if this dog had known her for centuries.

_Who's dog is this? _She thought, as she gazed into the dogs smart, black eyes. The man that looked like an older Roy walked towards her with an out-stretched hand.

"Are you okay?"he asked. His eyes were dark, but not dull. They were warm and friendly, and Riza felt safe and at home immediately.

"Yeah,"Riza replied as she took his hand. "I'm alright."

Riza sat up in her bed, with her heart pounding wildly. She looked around the room expecting to see the dog as well as the handsome man standing near her. See observed only to find the familiar surroundings of her home in Amestris. Roy was still sound asleep in his bed, obviously not disturbed by the possible noises that Riza had cause during her strange dream. She glanced at the clock to see that it was four-thirty in the morning.

_It was just a dream, _Riza thought with a sigh of relief. _But, why did I have that dream, and why was it based around military? _She continued to think, but again couldn't come up with an answer that actually made sense. As she proceeded with thinking, she laid her head back against her pillow. Her eyes suddenly widened with a possible fact.

She sat straight up in her bed again. _What if that was a sign? _Riza thought, hypnotized with the fact that this was the possible answer. She looked at the foot of her bed and began staring at her pistol. _What if I'm supposed to be part of the military too?_

Roy awoke around nine-thirty to hear the sound of zippers and bags shuffling across the floor. Sitting up in his bed, he turned around to see Riza packing her bags full of clothes.

"Um, what are you packing for?"Roy asked, evidently confused at the girl's strange actions.

Riza looked back up at Roy. "What do you mean?" she questioned.

"What I mean is why are you packing as if you are going on a personal tour around the world?"Roy prodded some more. He was growing tired of her procrastinating what her true intentions were.

"I've made up my mind, Roy,"answered Riza. She zipped up her last bag and placed it gently next to her others.

"You've made up your mind of exactly what?"Roy asked again, now standing in front of her.

"I was so worried about you being safe, and I was worried about my safety as well due to the fact that you weren't going to be here," Riza continued, with a large amount of obvious excitement gleaming in her dark brown eyes.

"Where are you going with this, Riza?"Roy pondered. "What are you trying to say?"

"I am for sure going with you to the military 'auditions',"Riza answered at last. "but you won't be the only one auditioning!"


	4. Fire, Push Knives, and Pistols

**Chapter Four:**

**Fire, Push Knives and Pistols**

Roy stared at Riza in amazement, trying to comprehend what she had just told him.

"I am for sure going with you to the military 'auditions',"Riza answered at last. "but you won't be the only one auditioning!"

Her words played over and over again like a broken record inside his head.

"Uh-uh. No way,"Roy sternly said back to Riza. "I am not letting you audition along with me."

"And why not, Roy?"Riza questioned further, placing her delicate hands on her hips. "It's my decision to make, isn't it?"

"Because it's extremely dangerous, that's why,"Roy answered, trying to stay calm. He was mortified by the fact that Riza wanted to be in the military along with him and Maes.

"So what? I can handle myself! I passed all of my pistol training courses, so I could be of good use to the military!"exclaimed Riza, obviously not ready to let her best friend take over of the situation.

Roy let out heavily-stressed sigh as he stared at his friend who refused to give up.

He suddenly paused, remembering one of the fondest memories he's had with Riza, and replayed it in his head.

_"__Riza, don't worry about me. I appreciate you wanting to help, but if you do, you'll end up getting hurt as well," explained Roy. It was hard saying this to his best friend, especially when he secretly desired for her help, but knowing protecting her was his main priority right now. "I'll be fine, believe me. You are my best friend, and I know you will always be there for me."_

_ Riza looked up to meet her best friend's kind and warm eyes. Her warmly-colored dark hazelnut brown eyes appeared to be locked into his piercing black eyes, and she couldn't look away. She had known Roy Mustang for only eight months, and yet he was her best and closest friend._

_ "And I promise, that I will always be there for you"continued Roy._

Upon remembering this, Roy released another sigh, and met the gaze of Riza once more.

"Alright, you can audition with me,"agreed Roy. "But you have to promise that you'll make it as well as Maes and I. I can't go through military without my best friend!"

"Whoa, you switched moods there all of a sudden,"stated the observant Riza. "What made you change your mind?"

Roy just smiled and continued gazing into Riza's eyes.

"It's a secret,"Roy answered, blushing a little. He wasn't sure if Riza remembered the promise he had made to her almost eight years ago, but it didn't matter as long as he kept it.

Riza smiled back and gave her best friend a hug. It was one of the best hugs that Riza had ever experienced, and she was even happier that she was able to audition with the best friend she's ever had.

They were interrupted by a somewhat deep voice, that also sounded a little awkward upon arriving while the two were hugging.

"Alright, you two,"teased Maes. "Get a room!"

Roy and Riza instantly let go of each other and blushed vibrantly. Roy turned to Maes and was obviously embarrassed.

"It's not like that, Maes,"started Roy. "You know we're ju-"

"Just friends, I know, Roy,"said Maes. "I'm just messing with you, but I don't blame you either; Riza is very pretty."

Riza blushed even more now, but not nearly as much as Roy did.

"Can we please go now?"questioned Roy, clearly done with the teasing his other best friend was giving him.

"Yes,"answered Riza. "Let's go."

"Whoa,"Maes interrupted. "She's auditioning, too?"

"Yup,"replied Roy. "Do you have a problem with our best friend, who is a girl, trying out for the military?"

"No not at all! I'm very excited, actually,"Maes responded.

"Friends forever,"Riza started.

"And friends for eternity,"finished Maes and Roy in complete unison. They all grabbed their bags and with bright smiles, headed out the door towards the train station.

They had to walk about 2 miles, but it wasn't that bad, especially since they had a couple of wagons to pull the luggage behind them. When they finally reached the train station, they bought their tickets headed to Central City, and they boarded the train.

"I'm so excited!"exclaimed Riza as she watched the other passengers board the train. "We're going to be in the military!"

"It is pretty exciting, isn't it?"agreed Maes as he gazes out the window as well. "I think some of the girls on this train are much more amazing!"Maes' attention now on a couple of brunette girls around the age of sixteen walked by.

_Boys will be boys, _Riza thought to herself. He glanced at Roy as well, expecting him to be admiring those pretty girls that walked by, but instead, he was looking out the window, not interested in them at all. _That's odd, _she continued thinking. Even though Roy would be seventeen in three days, he didn't seem the slightest bit interested in an attractive girl. _Maybe he just doesn't want to get into a relationship right before getting into the military, _Riza continued to think.

The train finally began to move towards their destination. The trip was going to be at least eighteen hours, so they would have to ride overnight. By eight-thirty, Maes was fast asleep with his head leaning gently against his pillow, who was followed soon after by Roy, leaning against the window the opposite direction. Riza couldn't sleep; she was too excited as well as nervous about the military to even think about sleeping. Lost in thought about the possible events that could occur the following day, sleep eventually took over Riza, drowning her in a long, rewarding slumber.

"Wake up, Sleepy Head,"said Maes as he smiled while poking Riza's face with intentions to wake her up. "Do you want to eat breakfast or not?"

Upon hearing the word "breakfast"Riza opened her eyes to see Maes as well as a train employee standing over her. She sat up, and continued observing the employee. She was slightly taller than Riza, and wore a slender, curvaceous body, hinting towards that her age was around eighteen or nineteen, but no older than twenty. She had dark oak-colored hair and bright aquamarine eyes that met Riza's gaze as she asked her a question.

"What would you like to eat, Hon?"asked the waitress while Riza stood up to stretch her legs and neck from sleeping in ball-shaped form. "Our special today is blueberry pancakes with maple syrup and scrambled eggs. Would you be interested in that?"

"Yes, please,"Riza answered looking once more at the beautiful waitress. "That sounds good, thank you."

The waitress smiled and nodded, and left the room without another word. For some reason, there was a little bit of an awkward silence in the room, but maybe Riza was just imagining it. She sat back down, and began a conversation with the two boys.

"Did you guys sleep well?"started Riza. She no longer wanted to sit in the silence; she hated a quiet room.

"I slept great! I had a nice dream that a pretty girl and I went out on a date to some restaurant,"Maes responded, his eyes gazing up at the ceiling, obviously enjoying the dream he had.

"Yeah, I slept okay,"Roy answered, still gazing at the window, something clearly on his mind.

"What's going, Roy Boy?"Maes asked, again calling Roy by his nickname. "You seemed fine yesterday. Are you feeling train sick?"

"No, I'm not. I'm fine, honestly,"Roy answered, now looking at Maes.

"Are you sure?"Maes prodded again. He knew something was bothering him, but if he didn't want to tell him what was upsetting him, he wasn't going to keep asking.

"Yeah, I just have a lot on my mind, that's all,"Roy again answered as he stole a quick glance at Riza.

Riza noticed the glance, and was very confused upon the emotions she guessed he was feeling by looking in his eyes. His eyes seemed a little distant, almost as if they were longing for something, but she wasn't quite sure on what that would be. _Why did he glance at me when he said, 'I just have a lot on my mind,' _Riza asked herself. This worried her a little bit. _Surely I haven't done anything to upset him? _Riza contemplated, now even more worried at the fact that Roy might be upset with her. She sat back down, and gazed at the window, unsure now of what she wanted to say next.

After Riza sat down, Roy dropped his glance and continued staring out the window. _If I don't talk to her about this soon, I don't know how she'll handle when she finds out that she might not be able to enroll in the military, _Roy thought to himself, stealing another glance at Riza.

Maes noticed the little awkwardness between Roy and Riza, and leaned the opposite way of Roy, not having any further responses.

The silence was broken when the waitress strolled into the room with their breakfast. The delicious aroma of the food grabbed the attention of all three of the young friends, remembering how hungry they were.

"If there's anything else you need, just ring this bell,"said the waitress, pointing to a bell a little above Maes' head. "Enjoy your meals!"Once again, the waitress was gone, leaving Roy, Riza and Maes in a never-ending muteness of the room.

They each grabbed their own breakfast, and began to consume the food that was upon their glass plates. The blueberry pancakes that Riza had ordered had a smell that made her desire to eat about twenty of them, even though she had only gotten two. She took a bite, and looked up at Roy once more, only to see that he was remaining silent.

"Roy,"Riza started, attempting to break the silence, which was causing her to go crazy. "Why don't you just tell us what's bothering you? I noticed you glanced at me when you said 'I just have a lot on my mind,' and I am confused as to why you looked at me."

Roy met the gaze of Riza, and swallowed the last bite of his chocolate muffin. He continued to stare at her, then sighed and decided that he might as well get it over with.

"I'm concerned about you enrolling,"Roy finally answered, not dropping his gaze.

"I've already told you, Roy, that I am going to go to these 'auditions' and that's that!"Riza retorted. She was tired of feeling like she was being treated like a child, due to her being nearly three years apart from both of the boys.

"Will you calm down, Riza?"Roy answered back. "I'm not talking about that, so stop yelling at me."

"If that's not what you were referring to," Riza began, now calming down once more. "Then what are you trying to get across?"

"The military enrollment requires that all people attempting to become part of the military must be at least the age of sixteen,"Roy replied. "That is the required age for enrollment."

"WHAT?"Riza exclaimed as she stood up. "That's so unfair! I'm only fourteen! I have to become part of the military, too! I just have to, and now you're telling me that it's impossible for me right now?"

"I didn't say it was impossible," Roy said simply. "I just said that it's the required age, but you can still get in."

"She can?" Maes asked, now even more interested in what Roy had to say.

"Really, Roy?"Riza wondered. "How is that a possibility?"

"You may be only the age of fourteen,"Roy began. "But you are highly skilled when it comes to the use of guns."

"Where are you going with this, Roy?"Maes prodded once more, now growing impatient that Roy is stalling what he really wants to say.

"What I'm saying is that thanks to Alchemy, the people enrolled in the military that know how to properly use and control a weapon is a small percentage compared to those officers who are state alchemists,"Roy responded. "Riza has a exceedingly high opportunity that she will be accepted, especially since she's been trained very well."

"This is so exciting!"Riza yelled now jumping with joy. "I can't believe that I'm going to be an officer after all!"

"This is wonderful!"Maes also exclaimed, now standing. "We are going to be together in the end; that's how it always is!"

Roy smiled at his two best friends, now relieved of the deep and heavy thoughts that had been weighing his mind down since Riza told him she was planning on enrolling. The thought of the three of them being with each other created a happiness inside of him, that he could no longer contain. He stood up, earning the attention of his friends.

"We'll be together, the three of us,"Roy started. "With fire."Roy placed his hand in the empty space in the middle of the three friends.

"Push knives," Maes continued, laying his hand down over Roy's.

"And pistols,"Riza added, joining her hands with the others.

"We can stay united to get through this together,"Roy finished, now truly feeling the bond between he and his friends.

They all sat back down, and full of energy, began discussing excitedly about the following day's assessment. If only they had known what difficult lives they each had in store for their unavoidable destinies.


	5. Fuhrer King Bradley

**Chapter 5:**

**Führer King Bradley**

Roy squeezed his eyes shut as he stepped off of the train into the large amount of sunlight that was graciously cast down on Central. Finally opening his eyes, he stood in place for nearly thirty seconds, taking in the sounds and unfamiliar surroundings of the busy city. Forgetting he was blocking the door of the train, Maes collided right into Roy when he stepped off the train, causing both of them to come crashing down on the ground. Riza stayed on the bottom step watching her friends wrestle on the sidewalk, not sure how to help solve this predicament.

"Geez, Maes! Watch were you're going!"Roy scolded, angry that his friend didn't even bother to notice he was right in front of the train's exit.

"I wouldn't have to if you weren't stopping people from getting on and off the train!" Maes retorted back, glaring angrily into Roy's eyes.

"Shut up, Maes!"Roy yelled in return. "And get off of me!"He pushed Maes' heavier body off from on top of him, and finally stood up. "You could've said 'excuse me' or something along those lines to make me move."

"Knock it off, Roy,"Maes started again, obviously getting more ticked off by the second. "I accidentally tripped on the stairs! I would've caught myself if you weren't too busy admiring the scenery! I didn't have time to say 'excuse me' before I fell!"

"Boys! Stop it!"Riza yelled. She had enough of the two boys' quarrel, and finally decided to do something about it. "Will you both just calm down? It was an accident, and both of you know that. Neither of you are hurt, so just get over it!" 

Roy and Maes flinched and stared at Riza's sudden anger towards the two of them fighting. They looked back at each other, and knew that she was right.

"Sorry, Riza. We hadn't meant to upset you,"Roy apologized.

"Yeah, sorry," Maes added. Both of the boys had now forgotten about their fight, and were more worried about upsetting Riza any further.

"It's alright,"Riza answered. She sighed at the thought of how many other fights might happen like this during their visit to Central. "Let's go find our apartment we're staying at. I would like to get some rest before our auditions tomorrow."

"Sounds really nice to me! I couldn't get any sleep at all on that train!"Maes complained, now having forgotten all about the previous fight.

"Really?"Roy questioned. "You looked like you slept pretty comfortable to me! At least more comfortable than I was."

"You even talked in your sleep a little bit," Riza added, smiling. She let out a small giggle as she remembered some of the interesting and hilarious things Maes had mumbled while sound asleep.

"Whatever. I still feel like I didn't sleep at all!"Maes finally admitted. "Let's hurry to our apartment. It's almost five-thirty."Maes picked his bags off of the sidewalk where he had landed on top of Roy, and began to head down the sidewalk heading to the apartment that the three of them were staying at. Roy and Riza had also grabbed their bags at this time, and had followed Maes down the sidewalk.

When they had reached their apartment, they had settled into their beds. There were only two beds, so Maes and Roy shared one, while Riza had the other to herself.

The room wasn't the largest in the world, but it would have to do for now, and no one had complained yet of the room's dainty size. At least it had a working kitchen sink and a shower; they would hate to have to go to the public showers to rid themselves of their filth. It was nearly nine-thirty when the first yawn escaped the mouth of one of the tired teenagers.

"I can't believe I'm tired already!"Roy said to say in between his yawns "I guess train rides and long walks to an apartment can really tire you out."

"No kidding,"Maes agreed as he slipped underneath the silky sheets and the cozy cover of the queen-sized bed. "I guess I'll be the first to surrender to sleep, and I'm okay with that!"Maes then sunk his head into the pillow and let out a large yawn.

"I'm going to do the same,"Riza stated. She then added with a laugh,"I'm exhausted. Keeping you two in line is a much harder job than I thought!"She winked at the two boys, then followed Maes' actions and sunk down into her own pillow and blankets.

"I bet,"Roy agreed sarcastically; he knew that she was half-joking. "So, Riza, what's our schedule for tomorrow?"

"Hm...After we wake up, which is going to be around seven in the morning, we will get dressed, eat breakfast and head down to the military base in Central,"Riza replied, obviously well-prepared for the day ahead of them. "I'll be setting an alarm so we'll make it down to the military base by nine-o-clock. Is that okay with everybody?"

Maes and Roy tiredly nodded in agreement, with Roy now swallowed by his side of the sheets. Tomorrow was going to be a very long and difficult day, so they needed their rest. Normally, they would try to stay up as late as they could, until they could no longer keep their eyes open and fell asleep either on the couch or on the floor.

"Alright, then,"Riza replied, ending the conversation. She closed her eyes and listened to the slow steady breathing of Roy and Maes. _They must have already fallen asleep, _she thought.

"Good night,"she eventually mumbled, knowing that the boys were already asleep, and allowed the sleep of the night to consume her for the evening.

_RING! RING!_

Riza opened her eyes reluctantly to stare at the extremely loud alarm. Turning it off, she walked over to the boy's bed, and woke them up, too.

_How they didn't wake up from that obnoxious alarm, I don't know,_ Riza thought as she started to removed the covers of their bed.

"HEY!"Maes shouted, pulling the covers back over his arms. "It's freezing, Riza! Let me sleep just five more minutes!"

"Just get up, Maes,"Roy argued back impatiently. "We have to make it to Central's military base if we want to make it to the auditions."Roy stood up and rubbed his eyes, while Riza walked over to Maes' side of the bed. "What are you doi-"

"SHH!"Riza interrupted, placing a delicate finger to her light pink lips. "You'll see."She carefully and quickly grabbed hold of Maes' left arm and yanked him off the bed with little effort.

"WHAT THE HECK, RIZA?"Maes shouted confusedly, now upside down with his legs still on the bed. "What happened to five more minutes?"

"They were demolished due to your lack of determination to get out of bed,"Riza answered back easily. "I'm going to shower. You two should get ready as well. I'll hurry if any of you need to shower."Riza then gathered her clothes for the day, and headed over to the shower located in the bathroom on the other side of the bedroom, closing the door behind her.

"Come on,"Roy started, slowly making his way over to his suitcase. "Let's get ready. I have to shower too, so I'll shower after Riza gets out. You can shower after me, okay?"

"Nah," Maes answered. "I showered before going to sleep last night, so I'm good."

Roy sat on the bed after getting his clothes together, and waited for Riza to get out of the shower. _I wonder if there is shampoo in there? _Roy thought, now gazing at the bathroom door. _I forgot to bring mine, so I hope they have some in the shower. It would be very convenient, _Roy finished.

"Roy,"Maes began. "Why are you staring at the bathroom door?"

"Huh?"Roy asked, now looking at Maes with his full attention. "What did you say?"

"I asked 'Why are you staring at the bathroom door?'"Maes responded, still having a curious look placed upon his face. His look of curiosity was soon replaced by a sly smirk. "You were thinking of Riza being in the shower, weren't you?"

"WHAT?"Roy exclaimed, now blushing feverishly. "You can't be serious!"

"Oh, but I am," Maes sneered as he loomed closer to Roy, who was obviously embarrassed. "Just admit it, Roy. You were thinking of Riza showering!"

"I wasn't!"Roy admitted, feeling misunderstood. "I was thinking of the shampoo!"

"Yeah,"Maes snickered. "The shampoo in Riza's hair!"

"AGH!"Roy shouted. "I wasn't thinking of Riza! I swear!"

"Right,"Maes teased. "Whatever you say, Roy, but one day you'll admit your feelings for Riza."

"Yeah,"Roy retorted. "After your dead!"

Maes just laughed and had just finished changing his clothes when Riza opened the bathroom door and stepped out into the main room.

"Who's showering next?"Riza asked innocently, her hair still a little damp, which was dripping drops of water onto her rounded shoulders. She was fully dressed, but wasn't quite ready for the day's audition.

"Roy is,"Maes replied in a tone which was really saying "Roy is especially after you've been in there, Riza."

"Yeah,"Roy agreed. "I'll be a few minutes."Roy closed the bathroom door behind him and started the shower.

Maes started laughing after a few minutes had gone by, playing back his previous conversation with Roy.

"What's so funny?"Riza asked Maes, her curiosity building each second as Maes continued to laugh.

Riza asking what was wrong made Maes laugh even harder. "Nothing, nothing,"Maes finally said in between giggles. "Just a little inside joke, that's all."

Roy finally stepped out of the bathroom, ready to go. "We should head out now,"he suggested. "We don't want to be late."

"Right,"Riza agreed, as she stood up and grabbed her bag that had her pistol in it. "Let's go."

The three of them left the hotel and headed down the sidewalk towards the central military base. When they got there, there were tons of people that were standing in a large, condensed crowd.

"What's going on?"Roy asked, standing on his toes to look over the towering crowd. "I can't see anything."

"Me neither,"Maes agreed. "Let's squeeze our way to the front."

As the three of them crammed their way through the tight crowd, they began to hear a deep, friendly voice that was welcoming them all to the auditions.

"Hurry!"Riza ordered, and she ushered her and her friends to the front of the group. There in front of them, they saw a middle-aged man, maybe around the age of sixty, who wore a military uniform and an eye patch. His military uniform was different from the rest, however.

"Who's that?"Maes questioned, gazing up at the man standing in front of the crowd on a raised platform.

"Be quiet, and you'll find out,"Riza answered quickly, also wondering who the man was.

"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen,"the man started, his one-eyed gaze searching along the crowd. "I'm pleased you all could attend. I'll be looking forward to seeing your talents that all alchemists, marksmen and office-trained people like yourself will have."

The people hollered and cheered, shouting that they would be one of the chosen people to get into the military.

"However,"the man continued, signaling the crowd's silence. "Not all of you will get into the military, so don't be cocky. I am a very picky person, especially when it comes to choosing the right people who can become officers ready for anything. If I don't think you're trained well enough or prepared, you have no chance. So I wish you all luck."

The crowd hollered even louder than before. The hollering was soon transitioned into whispers and hushed words asking who that man was.

"You must be wondering who I am,"the man stated, seeing the pondering stares of the crowd. "Excuse, me, I forgot to introduce myself! I'm the Führer King Bradley."


	6. Put to the Test

**A/N: This is my first author's note, because for some reason, I couldn't figure out how to do it, lolz. XD**

**So here is chapter 6:**

**The auditions start finally, after the Fuhrer's introduction, but will all three of them make it in the military? Find out by reading! O.O Lol.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own FullMetal Alchemist! **

**Enjoy!**

**~Dolphinz514**

**Chapter 6:**

**Put to the Test**

"The Führer," Roy mumbled under his breath, making sure that no one else had heard. _I've heard about him, but I can't say that they've all been good comments, _Roy thought, remembering the different reviews he's heard from other people about the Führer. He was claimed as a memorable man, who vowed and devoted his life to protecting the country, as well as being claimed as a sadistic person who only wanted to conquer over the weak.

"He looks kind of like a Santa Clause impersonator with an eye patch and no beard," Maes stated as he observed the man standing before them.

Riza began giggling, using her mouth to suppress her laughter from becoming noticeable and out of control.

"I guess so," Roy agreed, so was also laughing. He looked to his left to see Riza was still wrapped up in laughter's grip due to Maes' random comment. _I haven't heard her laugh in a while, _Roy thought. _I forgot how cute it was._

"Okay, we should pay attention now," Riza finally let words escape her lips after her cluster of giggles had finally died down.

"Right," Maes and Roy answered back, now turning once again to the Führer.

"Shall we begin?" the Führer asked, as he began to motion to three different locations. One behind him, one in front and the last to the left of him. "People here to audition for a position as a marksman, please make your way to the location behind me. There will be our most skilled marksmen judging your skills."

"I guess that's me," Riza said starting to walk towards the location aforementioned, before turning again to face Roy and Maes. "I'll see you later, and good luck."

"You too," Roy said back, while Maes nodded in agreement as they watched Riza continue on her way.

"If you are here to audition for a position as a soldier who is skilled in weapons for close combat, please make your way to the area in front of me," the Führer ordered, watching as a larger number of people headed towards the specified location.

"That's me," Maes said, shaking hands with Roy. "I'll see you later, Roy. You better make it as well as me, or else." Maes' gave a teasing wink before heading off towards the area opposite of Riza's.

_I hope we'll all be able to handle the pressure of this, _Roy thought, now feeling lonely due to the absence of his two best friends. _I don't know what I'll do if neither of them make it in. I've known Maes for nearly ten years, but I've known Riza for nearly thirteen, not to mention lived with her. It would be more devastating for me if she didn't make it due to her age of fourteen._ Roy sighed, as his thought were interrupted by the Führer's last order.

"If you are here to gain a position as a state alchemist, please make your way to my left," he finally added. Roy as well as many others headed towards the location previously mentioned.

_This is it, _Roy thought. He tried to imagine what Riza and Maes would be doing right now. _There's no going back, not even if I wanted to. I'm doing this for the sake of my country. _

Roy finally stopped in a large crowd that had made a giant circle around a large opening. Making his way to the front, Roy caught glimpses of the types of alchemists that were there. Some were taller, other short, while others had a more stocky build than others. Stopping at the front, he saw alchemists stand in the opening one by one, using their alchemy to prove their worth as the judges observed their every move.

"So what kind of alchemy do you do?" A voice behind Roy asked, causing Roy to jump a little bit. Turning around, he met the gaze of the person who had asked him the question. "Sorry, I hadn't meant to scare you," the young man said again.

This young man was around the age of nineteen, making him older than Roy by about three years. He was taller than Roy by a distinctive amount, and was obviously more muscle-toned. In fact, how well his body was toned was almost too much. His head was shaved except for a small strand of hair placed just above the middle of his forehead. His face was shaved too, showing clean, flawless skin.

"My name is Alex Armstrong," the young man finally said, introducing himself.

"Oh," Roy was finally able to answer. "My name is Roy Mustang, nice you meet you."

"Nice to meet you, too!" Alex answered back cheerfully, wrapping a gigantic arm around Roy's neck. "So, what kind of alchemy do you perform?"

"Um, Flame Alchemy," Roy replied. "I've been training with it for about eight years, but I still need transmutation circles to perform the alchemy. I don't know the hidden secrets about it. What kind of alchemy do you use?"

"I use alchemy dealing with strength," Alex used, scooting more up the line for auditioning turns. "You said you need the secret for Flame Alchemy, so you know where the secret is?"

"No, I don't, actually," Roy answered, staring at the ground "My mentor told me before he died that he kept the secret in a place that has one life, but has a spirit that will last forever."

Alex stared blankly at Roy as he attempted to comprehend what the riddle had meant "I have no idea to what that could possibly mean," he eventually admitted.

"I don't either," Roy said back, now looking at Alex. "but my mentor told me that when I found the secret, to take good care of it as if it were the most precious thing in Amestris."

"Wow, must be a pretty big secret, then," Alex agreed. "I wonder where he hid it."

"I asked my mentor the same thing," Roy stated. "I also asked him how could I find it, and when, and he told me that it would find me at the right time, but I must be patient. He also told me it's a lot closer than I think."

"This guy sure does like to avoid the easy way, huh?" Alex asked, folding his arms across his well-developed chest.

"He told me I wasn't ready for it, but I would be soon, depending on when the secret is ready to find me," Roy mentioned, putting his hands in his pants pockets. _I wonder where it could be. _Roy thought to himself. _I've looked everywhere, but I can't find anything. Perhaps Berthold was right. I do need to be patient._

"Hey kid, you're up!" one of the judges yelled, motioning for Roy to step into the empty arena. Roy had caught Alex's eye when he walked by.

"I'm in!" Alex whispered excitedly. "Good luck, Roy! I really hope you make it. I think we could become really good friends!" He patted Roy on the shoulder, and walked towards the tables near the judges' table to receive his newly-earned uniform.

"What kind of alchemy do you do, kid?" the judge spoke again.

"Flame Alchemy," Roy replied flatly, his nerves beginning to show. _Calm down, Roy. Don't work yourself up about this, just do your best and everything will be alright._

"Flame Alchemy," the judge responded thoughtfully. "You're the first today, so are you sure you can pull it off?"

Roy smirked and looked back at the judge, meeting his blue eyes with is black. "Guess you'll have to watch and find out," Roy answered. He knelt down about thirty feet in front of of the larges beams of wood placed in the middle of the field. Drawing a circle in the dirt with his chalk, he placed his hands on the ground. For a small second there was no fire to be seen, just a small puff of dirt from Roy's hands smacking the ground.

"This kid is bluffing," the judge said to the other. "He's only nineteen, and he strolls in here thinking that he can perform Flame Alche-"

A large explosion of a fire wall that stood nearly forty feet tall loudly interrupted the judge's harsh criticism. When the fire had finally dissipated, the beams of wood where merely a pile of ashes. Roy stood up, using his foot to remove the transmutation circle, and turned around to see the shocked faces of the judges.

"You're in, kid," the judge said, still a look of surprise lingering on his face. "I was wrong about you, and you seem promising! Go to that table to your left to receive a uniform."

"Thank you," Roy said, walking over the table that was previously mentioned. _I did it! _he thought, mentally screaming with excitement. _I just hope that Riza and Maes were able to get in this easily.  
><em>

Roy grabbed his new uniform, which stated the fact that he was a new state alchemist. Walking to the changing room that had been set up for the boys, Roy tried on his uniform to make certain it was the right size. After slipping his arms through the sleeves of the white dress shirt, Roy buttoned it up, looking at himself in the mirror.

_ I can't believe this is really happening! _Roy thought. He grabbed the cerulean blue jacket, and zipped it up. The uniform was very flattering to his nicely-toned body, fitting almost perfectly. _What should I do know? _Roy wondered, looking around the room. Some other members who had just passed the test were trying on their own uniforms, while he noticed that some were leaving the room. Listening in on their conversation, he heard that they were going to have a look around to familiarize themselves with the new building they would be spending most of their lives in.

_I think I'll do the same, _Roy finally decided as he stepped out of the room, and took a left, heading down a long hallway. The hallway was somewhat narrow, however, and it was very crowded, so that didn't help the situation either. Squeezing his way through the mass of people, Roy finally made it to a large room where officers were eating and talking. _This must be where we have lunch, _Roy thought, looking around the room some more, becoming lost in deep thought. His thoughts were soon rudely interrupted by a hand placed on his shoulder.

"Congratulations, Roy!" a familiar voice said. Roy turned around to meet the amber-green-eyed gaze of Maes. Behind Maes, a person a little smaller than both him and Roy appeared, her blonde hair and brown eyes giving her away immediately. Roy smiled upon seeing his two best friends, in blue uniforms matching his own.

"Riza, Maes," Roy muttered out, trying his best to contain his overflowing excitement. "I knew you would make it."

**This chapter was pretty fun to write, too! :D Lolz, what did you guys think? O~o. Please review, I must know what your awesome brains are thinking! :) Chapter 7 coming up soon, so please keep checking for updates! ;D Love you all!**

**~Dolphinz514**


	7. Welcoming Ceremony

**A/N: Sorry I've been a major procrastinator at updating these stories...especially this one! :/ This school week was pretty busy...and I didn't have much time on the computer and was pretty much in a writer's block ALL week...but today I thought of a good idea so I'll put it to the test and see how it turns out! :) It's supposed to be funny, so I hope you enjoy it too! Hehehehehe...**

***Disclaimer: I don't own FullMetal Alchemist. :/ **

**Enjoy!**

**~Dolphinz514**

**Chapter 7:**

**Welcoming Ceremony**

"I knew you both would pass your test, I had no doubt about it!" Roy said enthusiastically.

"Of course we would," Maes answered back with a smile.

"They regretted underestimating my skills due to my age," Riza stated. "I proved them wrong, and it was hilarious seeing the complete shock on their faces as I shot a moving target dead in the center without even looking."

Roy laughed as he turned back around and walked into the lunch room. He was looking for Alex; he wanted to introduce him to Riza and Maes. Roy finally spotted Alex across the lunch room talking to a young girl with short brown hair, with a mole under her left eye. He was also talking to a young boy, around the age of Roy, with half blonde, half light brown hair, who had a cigarette in his mouth. Roy began to walk towards them, happy to see that Alex had passed his test.

Hearing footsteps approach him, Alex turned and noticed Roy, who was waving at him. He smiled and waved back, which drew the attention of the people he was talking to.

"Roy," Alex started, still smiling. "So it looks like you were able to meet up with me again."

"Yeah, I guess so," Roy answered back. He looked at the boy and girl Alex was talking to.

"I see you've noticed my new friends!" Alex said enthusiastically. "I met them about an hour ago." He motioned his right arm to the young girl. "This is Maria Ross." He then motioned to the boy next to Maria. "And this is Jean Havoc. They're both well-trained marksmen." Alex then looked at Maria and Jean, now motioning to Roy. "This is Roy Mustang. He's an alchemist, like myself."

"Nice to meet you, Roy," Maria greeted, shaking his hand.

"Yeah, nice to meet you," Jean said next, his cigarette still in place between his teeth. "Who are your friends?"

"Oh," Roy said, feeling bad he had forgotten to introduce Riza and Maes.

"This is Maes Hughes," Roy started, pointing at Maes, who waved. "And this is Riza Hawkeye," Roy finished, now pointing at Riza.

"Ah," Alex said, looking at Riza. "She's very pretty Roy...is she your girlfriend?"

"WHAT?" Roy exclaimed, who was shocked; this was his first time hearing the question being asked. "Of course not!"

"We're just friends," Riza stated, stepping in the conversation. "We've never been anything more."

"If you say so," Jean teased, winking at Roy, who was now blushing bright red.

"I've been single my whole life!" Roy argued back, who was now more embarrassed than mad.

"Dude, calm down," Jean replied, holding his hands up. "I'm just kidding!"

Alex laughed loudly, Maes soon joining him, due to Roy's outburst in defensive comments. Riza began to laugh as well, while Maria wasn't quite sure how to react.

"Looks like you need to work on keeping your group quiet, Alex," a random voice ordered. Turning around, they all saw a young girl, around Roy's age, who had long brown hair that was pulled back into a ponytail, and black eyes with a tint of chocolate brown.

"Rebecca," Alex started, walking towards his friend. "I hadn't expected you to give out orders so quickly. You're the same rank as all of us anyways, so I wouldn't get to cocky." Alex smiled, and Rebecca smiled back, then looked at all of the other people surrounding her.

"Are you all newbies?" Rebecca asked the group.

"They are all brand new members, Rebecca," Alex answered looking at the others as well. "Guys, Rebecca has been here for about a year. She's from the same town as I, so that's how I know her."

"Well, since you are brand new here, you all are going to have to go through a welcoming ceremony," Rebecca said with a smile.

"What do you mean by a 'welcoming ceremony?'" Maria asked. "Oh, and I'm Maria Ross, by the way," she continued, introducing herself, who was followed by introductions from everyone else.

"Nice to meet you all. I'm Rebecca Catalina," Rebecca replied. "And to answer your question, Maria, if you all want to find out about the welcoming ceremony, come to room 2A after hours. You all _have _to come, so don't think about skipping out."

Everyone looked at each other nervously as Rebecca smiled mischievously. "I had to go through it when I was new, and it's not too bad, I can promise you that. The other thing I can promise is that I am going to change it up a bit from last year; I can do so because I'm in charge of the ceremony this year."

Rebecca turned and walked away, still in possession of her troublesome smile. "I wish you all luck!"

After the central building was finally closed down for the day, Riza, Maes, Roy, Alex, Riza and Maria all headed down to room 2A.

"I wonder what's going to happen," Jean thought out loud, lighting a new cigarette. "It better not be a strip poker ceremony."

"Why on earth would Rebecca hold a strip poker game for a welcoming ceremony?" Maes asked curiously, looking at Jean.

"I don't know," Jean admitted. "It just better not be."

They all eventually reached room 2A, and after about thirty seconds of exchanging a mixture of worried and suspicious looks, Riza opened the door and they all entered the room.

Rebecca was sitting on the floor, an old empty beer bottle and a cup with small folded pieces of paper inside placed in front of her.

"Glad you all made it," Rebecca began, her previous guilty smile returning to her lips. "Please have a seat, and sit in a circle."

"Dude, she's got to stop smiling like that," Maes whispered to Roy, who slightly laughed. "It's seriously creeping me out!"

After they were all in a circle, Rebecca dropped her smile, which was replaced by more of an elegant, serious appearance.

"Before we start, I'll tell you the instructions of this game," Rebecca began, staring at the other members in the circle on at a time. "And let me warn you, once you're in the game, you can't back out. If you do so, you'll pay the consequence, and I promise you it's not going to be exactly exciting."

Hearing those words sent chills up ran up the new member's spines.

"So before I tell you what kind of game it is, are you all in?" Rebecca asked, awaiting the answers of her fellow members.

She was answered by a group of nods.

"Um, Rebecca," Maria started, who was overwhelmed by fear and confusion, unsure of what emotion she should let conquer her. "What kind of game is it?"

"It's a combination of two games," Rebecca answered calmly. "But with my own little twist."

"What are the two games?" Roy asked, intrigued as to how Rebecca will answer.

Rebecca smiled at Roy's curiosity, making Roy uncomfortable, and replied in a mysterious voice, "It's a combination of 'Truth or Dare,' and 'Spin the Bottle.'"


	8. Truth or Dare

**A/N: I think I'm actually updating quicker than normal this time! O~O I had a little bit of a writer's block with this chapter, then something finally hit me! :3 I also realized I forgot to leave an Author's Note at the end of the last chapter...My bad! ^3^ Lol. **

**Thanks for all of the hits and reviews I've gotten so far! :D I really appreciate it! ^-^**

**Enjoy!**

**~Dolphinz514**

**Chapter 8:**

**Truth or Dare**

A collection of shocked stares targeted Rebecca, who refused to remove that malicious smile of hers. Everyone but Rebecca was trying to comprehend and replay in their heads what she had just said to them. They had to know if they had heard her right.

"A combination of Spin the Bottle and Truth and Dare?" Maria interrogated, breaking the silence that seemed to last an eternity.

"Yup," Rebecca answered easily. "And you all agreed that you would play it, and there's no backing out!"

"Okay," Rebecca started, looking around the circle once more. "Who is brave enough to spin first? If there are no takers, I will either spin first myself, or choose someone to spin."

Everyone exchanged looks, expecting the other to speak up and say "I'll do it," but that wasn't happening. Roy looked at Riza, who was staring at the floor now, trying to avoid the pressuring gaze of the other members. He looked at Alex, who was whispering something to Maria's ear, who nodded in return. _I'm not sure what they're scheming over there, _Roy thought suspiciously. _I don't like it._ He continued to look around the room and took notice that Rebecca hadn't dropped her tempting gaze quite yet. _Maybe I should go first, just to ease the tension in the room..._

"I'll go first," Jean volunteered, just as Roy was about to volunteer himself.

"Excellent," Rebecca praised as she handed Jean the empty beer bottle. "Before you spin, here are the last of the rules. Whoever you land on, you can't change, no matter who the person is. Once the bottle's spinning is completed, you will ask the person you landed on 'Truth or Dare.' If they say 'dare,' you must draw out a piece of paper of the red mug," Rebecca ordered, motioning to the red mug to her right. "If they say 'truth,' you must draw a piece of paper out of the blue mug. You must either do or ask whatever the paper says, and if you successfully do so, you get two points. However, if you refuse to do so," Rebecca passed a tantalizing glare around the room once more, threatening terrible things to anyone who refused to do what they will draw out of one of the mugs. "You will have to pay a consequence, and I get to decide what exactly that consequence is." With a gulp, Jean placed the bottle on the floor, and raised his hand slightly, leaving his fingertips remaining on the bottles cold surface.

"Here it goes," Jean said, before spinning the bottle. The bottle seemed to spin for hours, the dizzying motion hypnotizing the members in the circle as the sounds echoing off of the walls. The bottle slowed to a stop, and Jean looked up to see who his victim was.

Roy began laughing once he realized the bottle was pointing at Maes, who was slightly worried.

"Okay, Maes," Jean began, a wave a relief washing over him completely cleansing him of his fear of landing on Rebecca. Landing on her scared nearly everyone in the room, but it scared Jean the most. "Truth or dare?"

"Dare!" Maes taunted. "Let's start things off by making it interesting!"

_I like his courageousness, _a voice said aloud to themselves from outside the room, but not loud enough to let everyone in room 2A hear. _I wonder how he'll hold up throughout the game..._

Jean grabbed a piece of paper out of the red mug, unfolded it and read the contents. He laughed hysterically once he finished, covering his mouth with his hand to simmer his own laughter.

"It says that you have to do the Caramelldansen with one other member from the group for thirty seconds!" Jean announced, reading the paper's words aloud. "I also get to chose who you do it with, and I chose Alex!"

"I WOULD LOVE TOO!" Alex cheered. He stood up with Maes, who was also smiling, and Rebecca played the music to which the two men would be dancing too.

Everyone sitting down began clapping along with the beat and laughing as they watched Maes and Alex's hands in the air as their hips swayed side to side. Once thirty seconds was up, Rebecca stopped the music and the two boys sat back down, panting.

"That dance is one heck of a workout!" Maes exclaimed, as he fell backwards onto the floor, causing Roy to laugh at his best friend in return.

"That was fun!" Alex cheered once more, pumping a huge fist into the air.

_That Maes kid looks like he had just finished running a marathon, _someone thought to herself. _He's got a nice body, too. I have to hand it to him: he can dance. _

"Okay, my turn," Maes said, sitting back up again before spinning the bottle. Once it had stopped, the tip of the bottle was pointing at Maria, who laughed in return.

"Okay, Maria, truth or dare?"

"Truth, Maes," Maria answered simply, a slight red color flushing her cheeks. "I'm not as brave as you are!"

Maes laughed quietly as he retrieved a piece of paper from the blue mug. "Okay, here's the question Maria,"Maes spoke, as he read the words to himself.

Maria sat up a little, preparing to answer the question that was going to be asked. _I hope it's not anything too personal, _she thought worriedly at the thought of having to answer something completely inappropriate.

"If you could kiss anyone in the room, who would it be and why?" asked Maes before looking at Maria, who blushed feverishly when he had finished reciting the question.

"Ooh, this is gonna be good!" Rebecca muttered, encouraging everyone to bring their gaze to Maria.

"I-I don't know," Maria answered honestly, her fore fingers fumbling nervously.

"Well, you have to chose _somebody_," Rebecca pressured Maria.

Maria looked around the room, her gaze observing every boy in the room. She wasn't sure who to pick, and why for that matter. She had just met all of them, except for Alex and Jean, who she had known previously. With a troubled sigh, Maria sat up once again and prepared to let out her answer.

"My choice would be Jean," Maria answered blushing extremely now, trying to avoid the questioning gaze from Jean, "Because I've known him the longest, and he's a really caring person."

_Hmph...if it were up to me, I would chose that Maes kid. _The mysterious person gazed directly at Maes through the window in the door. _That's some hot stuff right there._

"Okay Maria, it's your turn to spin!" Rebecca cheered on Maria as she pushed the bottle towards the now embarrassed girl. Maria nodded, and spun the bottle as hard as she could, causing a scratching sound similar to nails on a chalkboard to emanate from the concrete floor. The bottle stopped its motions, and pointed directly at Roy.

"Okay, Roy," Maria began to say, as everyone glanced back and forth between her and Roy, waiting for the conversation to continued. "Truth or dare?"

"I'll chose dare," Roy answered with confidence, exchanging a glance with Maes. "I bet it'll be something worse than yours, Maes."

"Dude, mine was Caramelldansen," Maes answered, laughing a little. "_Anything _in those mugs can be considered worse than that."

Roy laughed loudly as Maria finally drew a piece of paper from the red mug. "Okay, Roy. It says here that you have to do twenty one-handed pushups. If you can do it within fifteen seconds, you will get an extra three points."

"I accept," Roy said bravely, laying on his stomach and putting his left arm behind his back and his right hand under his right shoulder. "I'm ready, start the time."

Rebecca started the stop watch as soon as Roy did his first pushup. Jean, Alex and Riza were all counting aloud the number of pushups Roy did as Maria and Maes cheered him on. When Roy finished his twentieth pushup, he jumped up and Rebecca stopped the timer. Everyone looked at her with suspension, wondering what Roy's time was.

"Your time is," Rebecca started slowly, stalling the announcement of Roy's time. "Is twelve seconds and fifty-eight milliseconds!"

A loud collection of cheers escaped the mouths of everyone in the room as Roy sat back down.

_He's kind of cute too, _the person outside the door thought, laughing to themselves. _But not nearly as cute as that Maes kid...they look as if they could be brothers. Well, even if they aren't, they still act like it. _

"Okay, now it's my turn to spin the bottle," Roy said excitedly as he sat up and spun the bottle in a circular motion in between the boundaries of the circle of members.

The bottle painfully slowed to a stop and and was aimed at Riza, who blushed slightly.

Roy smiled teasingly and leaned in towards Riza as if challenging her to chose 'dare.' "Okay, Riza, truth or dare?"

"I accept your silent challenge by choosing dare," Riza announced, surprising Roy a little bit.

Roy grabbed a piece of paper out of the red mug, unfolded it and read it's words.

His eyes widened in horror and complete shock when he was finished reading. He was frozen there, unable to move; he was too shocked to even say anything.

"What does it say, Roy?" Maes asked, sitting up and leaning over Roy's sholder to get a look at the paper. His eyes widened as well when he read the paper's sly demand:

_"You must kiss the person in the room that you have known the longest for twenty seconds in a closet."_

**A/N: So...what do you think? I know that the dare Roy had to read to Riza was a little devilish, but I couldn't help myself! XD What will happen next...and who's the mysterious person watching the group from outside the room? And why do they have 'the hots' for Maes? You'll have to find out in the next chapter! MUAHAHAHA! :3**

**Love you all and review your thoughts on the chapter, please! :D**

**~Dolphinz514**


	9. Refusal Means Consequences

**A/N: Hey guys, what's up? I know I left you all thinking something along the lines of "OOH! WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN NEXT?" or something like that. I also know some of you were like "...Who's the mystery chic who is hot for Maes?"Yeah...she is! XD So no more waiting, here is chapter 9! Sorry , but it's going to be a little longer than most of my chapters, but it's worth it! MUAHAHAHA! :3**

**Enjoy!**

**~Dolphinz514**

Chapter 9:

Refusal Means Consequences

_"__You must kiss the person in the room that you have known the longest for twenty seconds in a closet."_

Roy could not believe what he was reading, but Maes could. He began to laugh hysterically and roll on his side pounding his fist on the floor as Roy began to shake in a cold sweat. He reread the paper over and over almost ten times to make sure he read it right.

_How far-fetched is this? I mean it's as almost this was planned to happen, _Roy thought, as he continued shaking as he stared at the cursed paper. _I know that Rebecca got all of these ideas from her friends a few months ago...but it's almost as if..._

"Roy, what does it say?" Riza said, earning Roy's faded attention. Her brows furrowed as she attempted to read Roy's puzzled and scared expression.

_..As if fate wanted this to happen._

Unable to answer, Roy shakily lifted up his arm, extended his hand to Riza, who took the paper to read it. Her only reaction was complete and utter shock.

_Her and I both know that I'm the person she's known the longest, _Roy said to himself, trying to loosen his collar on his shirt, which was suddenly getting tight.

"What does it say?" Rebecca asked, as she looked over Riza's shoulder. She smiled and looked between Roy and Riza. "Well, you have to do it!"

"WHAT?" Riza exclaimed, now shaking as she stared at Rebecca. "You-You can't be serious?" 

"You two," Rebecca began, pointing her finger at Roy and Riza. "Made a deal. No backing out."

Roy gulped as Maes finally stopped laughing.

"I never thought something like _this _would happen!" Maes shouted as he pumped a cheering fist in the air.

"Will you please _not _encourage her, Maes?" Roy asked, glaring at Maes who suppressed a giggle in return.

_I would be encouraging it, too, to be honest,_ a mysterious girl thought to herself. _I've stayed way too long...I should be heading home. _With that, she turned around, but caught her foot in the process and slammed her body against the door, drawing the attention of everyone in the room.

"What the-" Rebecca spoke to herself as she stood up and walked towards the door. Opening it, she found a girl around the age of sixteen with brown hair and green eyes laying on the floor. The younger girl was beautiful, her hair flowing down and around her shoulders, drawing attention to her military uniform. Rebecca smiled, and reached down to offer the girl a hand, who gladly accepted and was hoisted up to her feet.

"Ashley Flynn! What are you doing here?" Rebecca interrogated, as she beckoned her friend inside the room. "You should totally join our welcoming ceremony game!"

"Is it the combination of 'Truth or Dare' and 'Spin the Bottle?'" Ashley asked as she sat down between Rebecca and Maes.

"Of course! You know me," Rebecca answered. "Always making the games fun with just a hint of naughtiness!"

Ashley responded by letting out a laugh that echoed throughout the room as Rebecca once again drew her attention to an extremely nervous Roy and Riza.

"All right you two," Rebecca started her order, glancing between Roy and Riza. "Get in the closet over there."

Rebecca pointed to a small closet that was beside the door through which Ashley came in.

"Sorry, but I can't," Riza answered, putting her hands up and palms out in protest. "He's like my best friend! I just can't do this!"

"Yeah," Roy agreed, trying to support Riza's luck. Heck, he was trying to help himself from getting in an awkward situation.

"REFUSAL!" Rebecca screamed as she pointed a delicate finger at Riza. "That means you have to pay a small consequence and add it to your dare."

"WHAT?" Riza yelled. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Yup!" Rebecca answered with a wink, still pointing at Riza. "You have to add another fifteen seconds to your dare with Roy in a closet!"

Roy face-palmed as Riza continued to stare blankly in Rebecca's eyes. "You've got to be joking? Thirty-five seconds!" she asked loudly as Rebecca asked Alex to stand up.

"What do you need Alex for?" Ashley asked curiously, excited to see where this dare will be going.

"I need his help enforcing this dare," Rebecca answered deviously as Alex smiled in return. He walked over to Roy, grabbed the back of his jacket and lifted him up to his feet.

"What are you-" Roy began as he felt all of his strength almost wither away to nothing when it was compared to Alex's brute strength.

"Resistance is futile, Roy," Alex responded as he picked up Riza as well. He turned towards the door and began to walk towards the closet.

"Put me down!" Riza ordered, her fear becoming more than obvious in her tone.

Rebecca stepped in front of Alex once they reached their destination, and opened the closet's door. Roy's eyes widened as he realized how small the space was inside. There were a couple of coat hangers and a pair of shoes, but other than that, it was nearly empty.

_ Not even Alex could fit in there! _Roy thought as he felt a shift in Alex's position as he put Riza in the closet. Roy then felt a hand on his back as he was pushed in the closet after Riza.

Roy felt his body collide with Riza's as the door was slammed shut behind him. Trying to turn around, Roy grabbed the handle to turn it and let themselves out, but he was too late; Alex had already locked the door and was leaning on it as well as Maes and Jean.

"This is gonna be good!" Jean cheered as he gave Maria a high five!

"Alright you two," Rebecca spoke as she walked towards the door. "We'll start the time once we hear some lip action! Ashley will tell us when to start; She knows what to listen for."

Ashley giggled as she stepped up beside Rebecca. "Wait, didn't Roy refuse a little too?" she asked Rebecca. She knew that it wasn't what one might consider as 'refusal,' but Ashley knew it would be good enough, and she wanted to make things more interesting.

"You know what, Ashley...you're right!"Rebecca agreed, pumping a fist in the air. "For an extra consequence, Roy, you have to...um..."

_Great, what is she going to do now? _Roy thought as she shifted positions, which he couldn't do really well since he was almost on top of Riza. His body was facing her as his hands were placed on the wall opposite of him on either side of Riza's head. She was slightly sweating from the warmth of the closet, and she was slightly panting on top of that. _She seems terrified, _Roy continued to think, as he looked at the ceiling to prevent himself from staring at Riza.

_..And she looks kinda cute..._

Riza noticed that Roy was also sweating, and was thankful to the somewhat darkness of the closet as she began to blush heavily. His chest was near her face, and one of his legs were in between hers, locking them in a position that was almost impossible to get out of unless the closet door was opened. Looking up to see his face, she could just barely make out the details of his baby-faced cheeks as he stared at the ceiling. _You know what...? _Riza began to think as she caught a glimpse of Roy's ebony eyes. _He's kinda cute when he's upset._

Some whispering went on outside, and Riza somehow knew that it was Ashley. _Oh great, _Riza thought, rolling her eyes. _What did Ashley think of now?_

"THAT'S GENIUS!" Rebecca exclaimed as Ashley was laughing her head off. "Roy, I have your punishment for refusing!"

"Oh great," Roy mumbled. Riza looked up to see he was still shaking a little bit.

"You have to..." Rebecca started, then caused her voice to fade away as if she was pausing for dramatic effect. "FRENCH KISS RIZA!"

"WHAT?" Roy exclaimed, now attempting to look at the door. "ARE YOU INSANE?"

"Just a little," Ashley answered innocently.

"Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but I am _NOT _French kissing my best friend!" Roy answered, his temper beginning to get the best of him.

"You have to do it!" Rebecca responded cheerfully. "You made a deal! And I don't hear any lip locking yet!"

Roy sighed as he looked down at Riza, who was looking back at him. They stared into each others eyes for nearly an eternity. Riza noticed that Roy looked almost as panicked as she was; She could see the slight fear hiding in his midnight-hued eyes.

She continued looking at Roy, then a puzzled look appeared on her face.

_He looks scared as well, but what's the other emotion I see that is almost overpowering fear? _Riza thought to herself as she read Roy's eyes. Almost no one can read Roy's emotions, but Riza could. She has known long enough to know what he's feeling. _Is it..._

"I don't hear anything yet!" Rebecca taunted from outside the closet. Roy glared at the door for a moment before returning his gaze on Riza.

_...lust?_

Roy leaned closer to Riza, causing her to slightly panic. She closed her eyes tightly as she readied herself for a kiss that she thought would never occur. She then felt a slight breath on her ear as Roy whispered something.

"We don't have to do this," Roy said. "I know you don't want to, so we don't have do. I don't even want to myself...your my best friend. It's...awkward."Riza somehow knew that there was a little white lie in what he said because she had noticed the possible amount of lust in his eyes.

"OH YES YOU DO!" Rebecca argued. "I have hearing like a hawk! Do it or else I'll ad twenty more seconds for stalling!"

Roy's eyes widened as he thought of having to kiss Riza for fifty-five seconds. Looking at Riza, he noticed that she had calmed down slightly.

_It's almost as if she looks like she wants to kiss me, _Roy thought confusedly.

Riza looked at Roy and let out a sigh that filled the closet room. "It's now or never," she started as Roy gazed at her with puzzlement. "If we don't do it...they'll never leave."

Roy sighed as he knew this was true. _To be completely honest, _Roy thought as he stared at the floor. _I kind of want to kiss her too..._

"Are you sure about this?" Roy asked one more time before he did anything to start Riza's dare.

Riza responded by nodding as she silently clenched her palms. _I can do this, _Riza thought to herself bravely as Roy inched his face closer to hers. He seemed to take forever, causing Riza to become somewhat impatient. _...Am I actually anxious to kiss him? _

Roy suddenly pressed his lips quietly to Riza's, and he held there for a couple seconds before Riza began to kiss him back.

"FINALLY!" Ashley hollered as she sat on the floor with relief. "Rebecca, start the timer!"

Roy heard everything from outside, but chose to ignore what they were saying. He was focusing on Riza, and nothing but her. He pressed his body against hers for more support as his arms were getting tired of being pressed on the wall. He felt his knee touch the wall, and once he knew he had his balance, he lowered his right hand to cup around the back of Riza's neck. She responded to this move by interlocking her arms behind his neck, causing their kiss to become more intense.

"Twenty seconds!" Rebecca yelled from the room as she held up the timer in her hand. "Don't forget the french kiss!"

Roy mentally rolled his eyes as he was reminded that he had to French kiss Riza. He slowly opened his mouth as he gently allowed his tongue press on Riza's lips. Riza reluctantly granted permission by slightly parting her lips, and Roy entered his tongue through her mouth. She knew that once this was over, their friends would never let them live it down.

"I can't hear it!" Ashley exclaimed as she spoke from experience. "He did it!"

Riza pulled Roy closer, letting something inside of her control her actions. She knew that she didn't love Roy, but she was his best friend instead. Yet, she wanted this too, but she couldn't exactly say why.

"Time is up!" Rebecca yelled as Alex leaned off of the door as well as Maes and Jean. Roy returned his tongue to his own mouth and broke their kiss. Riza was blushing feverishly now, same with Roy. Roy looked behind him as he heard Jean unlock the door, and squinted his eyes shut as the light from the room blinded him. Alex grabbed Roy's arm to help him out of the closet, and Roy sat on the floor. A little dizzy from previous actions.

_ What happened? _Roy asked himself as Alex helped Riza step out of the closet. She was also looking a little pale and dizzy herself as she sat by Maria on the floor. _I didn't mean for things to get that heated...what took over me? _

Roy felt a arm around his neck as Maes sat down, patting Roy's shoulder. "Now that wasn't so bad, huh?" he asked Roy, who only glared at him in return.

"Never again am I playing 'Truth or Dare' with you guys," Roy answered as he placed a hand to his face. The other members in the room gathered once again in a circle to continue their game.

"Okay," Rebecca started as she allowed a smile to grace her face. "Who's next?"

**A/N: SQUEE! Okay, so this chapter was OBVIOUSLY longer than usual, but I had SO many things to add! T.T''' TROUBLESOME! XD So now you know Ashley Flynn is the mystery chick, unless you missed that...but I'm not quite sure how you could.. XD Lol. Normally my chapters are about 5 pages on my writing program, but this one is about 8...yeah. ANYWAYS, I had fun writing the dare to be honest! I was laughing to myself when I was thinking about what Freyja is going to say in her review! XD I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I will update soon! :D Luvz you all!**

**~Dolphinz514**


	10. Lust Is Her Name

_Hey! Sorry for those who were waiting for SUCH a long time for this chapter... *cough cough* FREYJA! *cough cough*...haha. I told her and a couple other of my besties that I would update...like 2 weeks ago...obviously...those were empty promises...hehe. And I'm also currently in a bet! XD I bet Freyja that I could get to episode 199 in Naruto: Shippuden by Christmas. If I lose I have to give her five bucks, make a video saying how awesome she is and put it on Facebook AND I have to draw Choji swirlies on my cheeks and wear it to school for a whole day! I'm only on episode 66...IN THE SECOND SEASON! I have more than 200 episodes to watch...I'm screwed. XD BUT I WILL PREVAIL! I want to she Freyja wear those ADORABLE swirlies! ;D Anyways...I had fun writing this chapter! :D I really did...hehe. :3 I hope you like it too! It's not a chapter that has action or a lot of drama in it, but it's more of a filler chapter...like a chapter that helps prepare the story for the main climax! :D BOOSH! Now enjoy, dattebayo!  
>~Dolphinz514<em>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 10:<strong>

**Lust Is Her Name**

"That was the best game EVER!" Maes hollered as he collapsed on the bed, causing the pillows to fly off of the covers nearly a foot. Sitting back up, he looked at Riza, who was gathering some clothes then he looked at Roy, who just closed the door to their hotel room, still blushing madly. "Well, _I _sure had fun! Did you guys?"

Maes was answered with a couple of glares from the other two members in the room, hinted with both utter embarrassment and confusion.

"Oh yeah," Roy responded coldly. "Oodles."

Maes laughed at his friend's lack of comfort due to previous events as Riza walked towards the bathroom with a pile of clothes in her hands.

"I'm taking a shower," she stated as he reached for the bronze handle on the bathroom's door.

"Didn't you take on earlier?" Maes questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Well I'm taking another one!" Riza answered back, closing the door behind her.

"...Well then," Maes muttered to himself. He looked over at Roy, who was slumped on the other side of the bed. "You okay?"

"I guess," Roy replied slowly, his eyes studying the grain in the wood floor as he recollected his thoughts. "I'm just so confused..."

"About what?" Maes pondered, turning around so he was sitting beside Roy. He raised his eyebrow once more and smirked slyly as he placed his hand on Roy's shoulder. "That you liked kissing Riza?"

"SHUT UP!" Roy yelled, turning quickly to face his best friend. "NO That's...that's not...exactly it."

"Wait, not exactly? What do you mean, Roy?"

"I mean...it was so awkward. She's one of my best friends, and kissing her...just made things awkward beyond belief. Then when..."Roy trailed off, returning his gaze to the floor.

"When what?" Maes asked, removing his hand from Roy's shoulder.

Roy looked back up at Maes, hesitating as he thought whether or not he should tell his friend. Taking a deep breath, Roy closed his eyes for a moment, before opening them once again as he spoke."When I had to French kiss her...something...came over me. Something that I couldn't control...as if..it was possessing my thoughts and actions. Then, my palms started to sweat, my knees started quivering and my mind was merely a puppet. I...I actually _liked_ kissing her, Maes, but I don't know why! I don't like her that way! I'm so confused..."

Maes looked at Roy, contemplating upon what Roy was dealing with. He noticed that Roy looked scared. In fact, he looked terrified, but for what reason? Maes knew that he would get over kissing Riza eventually, but the fact that Roy liked it? That was a different factor. He thought about Roy's situation a while longer, before raising both eyebrows when realization hit him like a freight train. Maes then added a half smirk, half smile to his countenance, and gave Roy his solution.

"I believe you met Lust," Maes answered finally.

"What? Are you sure?" Roy interrogated. _He can't be serious...and what exactly does he mean by "Lust?"_

"Well...hm...how should I put this?" Maes asked himself, placing a hand to his chin and he stared at the ceiling. "This was your first kiss, right?" he asked, now looking at Roy, who nodded a reply. "That makes perfect sense, then. That was your first experience of an "intimate" action. By "intimate action," I mean an action such as a desperate first kiss, or a passionate hug."

"I'm confused at what you're getting at, Maes," Roy stated bluntly, placing his chin in the palm of his right hand, now sitting criss-cross on the bed facing Maes.

"I'll give you an example. When had my first kiss, I also had a feeling of confusion, yet I also liked the situation. It was awkward at first, then as the kiss grew, it wasn't as awkward. Lust is one of the seven sins, known for causing it's "host" to have feelings, thoughts, and actions of attraction towards another being," Maes answered not out of pure knowledge, but also experience.

"But I'm not attracted to Riza," Roy stated calmly. "How did this "Lust" person-thingy control my thoughts if I wasn't even attracted to her?"

"That's the weird thing," Maes replied. "Lust accepts all kinds of victims, especially the ones that are the least prepared."

"Hmph," Roy mumbled under his breath, looking at the wall to his right. "Great. I just hope Riza won't be mad at me."

"She'll get over it, dude," Maes said easily as he stood up and grabbed his pajamas out of his backpack. "Don't worry about it. You two are very close. She won't let that come between your friendship. Oh, and just a warning: You might be thinking a little...differently for the next couple days, especially towards Riza. Lust just works that way."

_Great, _Roy thought as he also grabbed his pajamas. After slipping into the cool fabric, the bathroom door opened, and Riza stepped out into the room, letting a cloud of steam release from the bathroom. Roy couldn't help himself but gawk at the sight as Riza's wet hair flowed around her shoulders, water dripping onto her arms and the floor. Her cheeks were flushed a slight pink due to the warmth from the shower and her skin looked fresh and clean. The water on her body underneath her pajamas, caused the silky fabric to stick to her body just enough to show of her curvacious figure. Before Maes and Riza could notice Roy's feverish blushing, he turned around towards his backpack and looked up at the ceiling, silently cursing Lust and her evil ways. _This is going to be a long night. _

"Okay," Riza began as she placed her dirty clothes in her backpack. "I'm alright now, but I am never, EVER, playing that game with Rebecca again."

Roy laughed at looked back at Riza, who smiled back in return. _So she's not mad at me...what a relief! _Roy thought as he sighed and mentally wiped his forehead.

"I'm with you on that one!" Roy agreed, as he sat back down on the bed and him and Maes shared, the red color finally leaving his baby-faced cheeks.

"What time is it?" Maes asked as he attempted to glance around Riza to see the inconveniently placed clock.

"ADVENTURE TIME!" Roy yelled as he pumped a fist in the air, causing Riza to start roaring with laughter.

"...What?" Maes questioned Roy's random cry of nonsense.

"Nothing," Roy replied, smiling widely. "Just an inside joke."

"It's almost two in the morning," Riza answered turning back around. A distinct amount of exhaustion crept into her voice as if seeing what time it was suddenly made her tired.

"Oh gosh," Maes muttered, walking to his side of the bed in their quaint hotel room. "I'm going to bed. We have a long day tomorrow."

"What time do we have to be there?" Roy asked, now also curious to see how much sleep he will be receiving tonight.

"Seven,"Riza answered again, drawing the curtains closed before walking over to her bed.

"In the morning?" Maes questioned, nearly yelling.

"No, Maes, at night," Riza replied sarcastically. "What do you think?"

"It was an honest question, sheesh," Maes defended, putting his hands up in front of his chest. "I'm not going to get any sleep tonight."

"Same here," Roy answered, plopping his head obnoxiously on the comfortable down pillow.

Riza crawled underneath the sheets in her bad, leaning back to lay herself down on the pillows. "Let's call it a night," she finally said, closing her chocolate brown eyes under tired eyelids.

"Agreed," Roy commented, pulling the covers over his shoulders before laying on his stomach.

Maes turned of the lamp in the room, leaving the room in complete darkness. Soon, the sound of shuffling blankets gave away that he had also moved under the bed's sheets. "Good night."

Roy lay awake in his bed as he laid on his back, gazing at the ceiling. _This is troublesome, _he thought. _I can't fall asleep. And it's nearly four o' clock! _He turned his head to the left to look at Riza, who was fast asleep. Roy couldn't help but blush again as he watched the rise and fall of her chest as her lips were slightly parted as she breathed silently. Her eyes would occasionally flinch as if her she was dreaming about something intense and life-threatening. _Lust, huh? So that's her name...hmm..._

Roy turned his head to face the ceiling once more as he closed his eyes. He shivered as a burst of cold, crisp air flowed through the window that Riza had opened earlier before she closed the curtains. Roy closed his eyes tighter, as the cool breeze found its way under his blanket, and he tried to bury himself even deeper into the warm mattress. _I wonder if..._

Roy shifted his body so he was laying on his stomach, like he was previously and glanced at Riza in the process.

_...if Riza met her too._

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><p><em>Haha...again. I had fun writing this! If you guys got the whole "ADVENTURE TIME" comment...then you are an amazing person. Review if you know what it's from! I wanna know your thoughts! ;) I wasn't sure what Roy should say there, but I wanted it to be comical, and I remembered Freyja quoted "adventure time!" earlier on our Chamber Chorale tour bus on the way home today and I was like "GENIUS!" Freyja herself if pure geniusness! ^_^ What are besties for? Haha. She helped me edit this chapter...so thanks! :D And I'm glad to hear you're loving your Naruto manga I got you! The manga section at Barnes and Nobles was so conveniently placed! I love it! XD So please review! If not...I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN AND GUT YOU LIKE A FISH! (Another quote from an awesome movie...if you know what's it's from, guess! OOH! I wanna see who can get them first! If you know what showmovie either of these two comments are from: 1) ADVENTURE TIME! and 2) I will hunt you down and gut you like a fish. ...then guess, and whoever gets it first will win! And I'll mention you in my next author's note for chapter 11...hehe. ;) Hope you liked the chapter, and review! PLEASE! I wanna know what your fangirl/fanboy minds are thinking! Some of you must think I'm telepathic or something, cause I have over 2,000 hits..and like...25 reviews...HOW? I'm not a psychic! XD But if I was, how could would that be? 8D  
>Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for more to come! (How cheesy was that last sentence? VERY! Haha. Yay for cheesiness.)<br>~Dolphinz514_


	11. Dreams Mean Nothing

_A/N: ...It's been a while since I've updated! Sorry! I went out of state for Thanksgiving, then I just got over having major Oral Surgery, and I've been recovering, but now here it is! Chapter 11! WOOHOO! *Twirls finger* I am sorry for those who had to wait for some time, and I also would like to announce the winners for the little quote contest I was sort of having..._

_Quote #1: "ADVENTURE TIME!" Winner: ImXDragon  
>The quote was from "Adventure Time!" a cartoon series found on cartoon network.<br>Quote #2: "I'll hunt you down and gut you like a fish!" Winner: Freyja Elizabeth (haha.)  
>The quote was from the live action movie "How The Grinch Stole Christmas". The quote was made my the Grinch himself, Jim Carrey.<em>

_No...ENJOY THE CHAPTAH! :D  
>Sincerely,<br>~Dolphinz514_

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><p><strong>Chapter 11:<strong>

**Dreams Mean Nothing**

Riza's heart felt as if it was about to explode as it pounded wildly inside her chest. She was crouched behind a couple of garbage cans in an unknown alley, her pistol in her right hand. She carefully raised her body only a few inches until she was able to see the street at the alley's opening. Surprisingly, it was open, but they were looking for a wanted suspect, so it makes sense that the streets were cleared. Simply a matter of safety.

Riza sat back down with her knees to her chest as she slowly gained her normal breathing speed. She listened intently for any sounds of running, driving, talking...anything that would cause her adrenaline to start pumping its way through her veins. Hearing nothing, she cautiously stood up, her pistol ready to fire in case someone or something was feeling like being extra stealthy today.

She placed her back to one of the alley's walls and she peered around the corner behind her. She then turned her head around, facing the front, to gaze down the other way. There wasn't even a mouse crawling across the street.

_It's unusual that the streets are this busy..._Riza thought as she began to walk down the sidewalk towards the rendezvous her fellow soldiers had prepared earlier. _Even with a wanted criminal who happens to be a serial killer wandering around, there would still be at least two or three cars driving by..._

Riza was interrupted from her dream-like state of being deep in thought when she heard an obnoxious shuffling behind her. Quickly turning around, she shocked herself by seeing nothing behind her. Telling herself she simply imagined it, she turned back around and continued strolling down the concrete path. A few minutes later and without warning, a large and nicely-tanned arm with strange tattoos reached and wrapped around her delicate neck as the hand on the opposite arm held up a life-threatening knife.

"Listen to me, and your friends nor you will be hurt," offered the mystery voice. _This must be the suspect..._Riza speculated. _He wouldn't be threatening me if it wasn't...wait a minute...I could use this as an opportunity to catch him...but how would I warn or tell the others? _

"Well?" the voice prodded again, the knife edging closer to her throat. Riza simply nodded a response, not wanting to speak just yet. The man yanked her into a different alleyway than the one Riza was hiding in before, and threw her on the ground.

Riza turned to see the face of her perpetrator. Her eyes lit up as she realized it was the suspect that her commanding officer had been searching for for months now. The man donned a large X-shaped scar across his face and had dark, rounded sunglasses that hid his true eye color: red.

_Scar...where have you been hiding?_

"I'm going to make a deal with you," Scar began, as he knelt down to Riza's eye level. "Will you accept?"

"Depends was the offer actually is, Scar," Riza bluntly replied, not letting her guard nor her dignity down for a second.

"Whoa no...hold on here. I'm not telling you anything until you agree to take my deal! I don't want to take any risky chances...I'm sure you don't want to either."

"Correct, Scar."

"So...what do you say? Will you accept or not?"

"Again, Scar, I need to know what exactly this 'offer' of yours is, but I have an order, and that is to capture you dead or alive and bring you back to Headquarters once and if I do," Riza answered back calmly. She was not going to give in any time soon.

Scar, losing his impatience, fiercely grabbed Riza's collar of her military jacket and pulled her to her feet. Their eyes and noses now lining up, Riza could finally see what color his eyes had been trying to hard to hide. _So he is an Ishvallan after all..._

Scar shook Riza a bit before slamming her against a wall, causing her to suppress a small grunt of pain. He leaned in until his mouth was against her ear, talking in a hoarse whisper."I'm losing my patience, and I am not taking your crap anymore."

"And I believe that I told you, I am not accepting anything except the orders specifically given to me."

Scar pulled Riza away from the wall again and turned his body harshly, letting go of his hand holding it's grasp on Riza, causing her to fall clumsily into a pile of garbage.

Riza gasped in pain and shock as she hit the hard ground. She returned to gaze back to her enemy, attempting to glare at him and she tried to stand up. Inconveniently, her legs shook and Riza collapsed back to the ground. Scar suddenly donned a lust-filled look in his eyes, as if he had other things in mind then just simply hurting Riza. Realizing this, Riza began to panic, and attempted to stand up before Scar could touch her in any ways not welcome, but was forcefully stopped when he grabbed her wrist and pinned her against the wall. Scar was just about to grab her collar again when embers danced by dangerously close to his face. Scar stood up and turned to see who or what would do such a thing, and recognized the State Alchemist who pedestrians claims to be the "Master of Fire."

"I highly suggest you leave my Lieutenant alone, or pay the consequences," the dark and masculine voice of the young alchemist threatened promisingly. "I kind of need her around," he added with a smirk.

Scar looked at the alchemist's eyes, chose to save his strength to fight him later, and darted off in one direction.

"Sir," Riza managed with a swallow. "He's getting away."

"It's okay, Riza," the alchemist comforted, kneeling next to his lieutenant. "You okay?"

Riza looked up into the eyes of the man who saved her, her chocolate-brown eyes meeting his coal-black. Riza nodded to Roy, who helped her stand up on her still-shaking legs as he put all of her weight on his. "He didn't beat you up too badly, and that's great that you're not fatally injured or anything. I knew it was a bad idea to separate."

"I'll be fine, Colonel," Riza reassured, putting her weak left hand up to help support her convincing Roy.

"I know you will, Lieutenant," Roy answered back with a small smile."It just kills me to see you hurt in anyway."

Riza gasped and widened her eyes as she suddenly sat straight up in her bed. Looking around her, she took in her surroundings, and remembered she was back in the hotel. _Was that all just a dream? _She asked herself as she got out of her bed and walked towards the bathroom. _That was a weird dream...it felt so real. _

She turned on the light in the bathroom and closed the door quietly. Looking at the clock to see it was almost two in the morning, Riza let out a quiet sigh and turned on the cold water in the bathroom sink. Placing her hands together to make a cup shape, she put her hands under the water and rubbed it against her face to help clear her thoughts. She picked up the wool towel after turning off the water and dried her face. When she was about to hang up the towel, a knock was heard through the other side of the door, which Riza opened to find Roy standing sleepily on the other side.

Roy scratched his head before speaking. "Everything okay?" Roy asked finally fitting an obnoxious yawn somewhere in between. "You were talking in your sleep, which woke me up, and I saw you walk to the bathroom."

"Oh, I'm sorry I woke you...I hadn't meant to..." Riza answered, her last words trailing off. "I just had an odd dream, that's all."

"What kind of dream was it?"

"Well," Riza started, fumbling her fingertips back and forth between each other. "It's been more than just one dream...but they've all been different."

"What do you mean?"Roy questioned as he entered the bathroom and closed the door to prevent any light from leaking out into the main room where Maes was still sound asleep. Riza sat up on the counter before continuing the conversation.

"They're dreams where I'm a higher-ranked soldier in the military," Riza began cautiously, not sure of how Roy would react to her questionable dreams. "You're in it too, and sometimes Maes...and some random people also show up, but they're there often. I remember almost exactly what they look like."

"What do they look like?" Roy asked curiously.

"There are three total: one being a murderer. He has tanned skin and always wears sunglasses, so I don't know what his eye color is, but I think it may be red. He has half charcoal gray, half white hair and a large X-shaped scar on his face. Everyone in my dream keeps calling him "Scar" because no one knows his real name."

"Interesting...who are the other two?" Roy questioned, partially to himself.

"The remaining two are the most interesting of the three. One is a young man who has long blonde hair which is usually worn in a braid. He has topaz eyes and he isn't very tall, unlike the person that I see traveling with him. This person is actually a suit of armor. I've never seen inside the armor, however...so I don't even know what his actually human body looks like..." Riza trailed off once more as her gaze traveled to the linoleum floor.

"That is weird...and you say that I am also in these dreams?" Roy interrogated, bringing his gaze up to Riza.

Riza turned to meet Roy's tired eyes looking at her with misunderstanding and curiosity. "Yes, you are. You usually are telling me what to do, and you call yourself my commanding officer in my dreams...in fact...in this last dream, you called me 'Lieutenant.'"

"Really? What do you think these dreams mean, Riza?" Roy pondered, staring towards the wall in front of him.

"I honestly don't know, but I've realized that in all of my dreams that have happened, we are all at least twenty years old...that is what really interests me." Riza replied, yawning shortly after. She was beginning to feel tired, especially after being in the bathroom for a while.

"Hmm...well, I personally don't think these dreams mean anything, Riza. I wouldn't worry about it."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course. Now, how about we get back to bed? We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow," Roy suggested as he opened the door once more and walked towards his bed, rubbing one of his eyes.

Riza turned the lights off in the bathroom and traveled across the floor before she crawled into her bed. She was suddenly feeling exhausted, and just wanted to fall asleep once again.

Roy laid on his back on his side of the bed, gazing at the ceiling, lost in thought. _Might as well ask her now before she falls asleep..._

"Hey, Riza?" Roy began, shaking a little. _Will she think it's weird that I'm asking this?_

"Hmm?" Riza mumbled as she kept her eyes closed with her face buried in her pillow.

"About the kiss last night...did anyone...or anything come over you...?"

Riza lifted her head and led her gaze towards where Roy's face would be. She couldn't see any of his features, due to the utter darkness of the room, which she was also thankful to for hiding her heavy blush across her silk cheeks. "What exactly do you mean?"

"Well," Roy muttered, fumbling his thumbs together. _How am I supposed to ask this without being so blunt? _"Like...any feelings like...uh...lack of control?"

There was a moment of awkward silence as Roy impatiently awaited Riza's reluctant answer.

Finally taking a breath, Riza filled her desperate lungs with well-needed air. "Um...kinda..."

"Really?"

"Yeah," Riza confirmed, almost stating it as a question. "Why?"

It was Roy's turn to be thankful for the darkness as his own face turned to a deep shade of crimson red. "Well...I was just wondering because...I...felt it too. And I wanted to say that I didn't mean to make the kiss..._lusty._"

'_Lusty'? _Riza repeated in her head. _He also felt the lust seeping through his veins? The same dreadful lust that tried to let all of my unknown emotions flow towards my best friend? I don't even like him that way! _"I didn't feel that it was, Roy, so it's okay."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I am sure."

"...Okay. That was my only question," Roy finished, pulling the covers back over his shoulders and turning over onto his right side. "Good night, Riza."

"Night, Roy."

Riza stared in the direction where the ceiling would normally be seen as she contemplated upon what Roy had said to her today and what her dreams were all about.

_Why am I a soldier of higher rankings? Am I just dreaming what I want to happen, or will these "dreams"predict moments and events of the future? And why is Roy always in them? Are we more involved with each other in the future? Or...or am I secretly desiring to be more than his friend...?_

Riza closed her exhausted eyes as she remembered how early in the morning it actually was, not losing her place in her pondering thoughts. _...No. That's not it. I don't view Roy that way, and I never will. Those dreams mean nothing...nothing at all._

_...Right?_

* * *

><p><em>AN: SO...? What did you think? I hope they're good thoughts, and that you'll leave a review saying what those thoughts are! If they are bad/not good thoughts, however...well...review anyways. I want opinions, words of advice and critiques on chapters! Please? I beg of you! I would give each of you five bucks to do so, but...I don't have the money...hehehehe...so how about I give you imaginary 5 bucks for reviewing?_

_...No? Fine then, you're choice! ;D_

_Thank you for reading, loving and reviewing! (Well, most of you for reviewing!) I know that all of you will look at that "review chapter" button when I say to look at it! LOOK AT IT NOW! See? You just looked at it! You couldn't help yourself, but it's okay. I doubt you're the only reader who did so. Which reminds me, did you know that the average human could lick their elbow?_

_...HAHAHA. I bet you also didn't know that 90% of people who just read that spent around 2-5 minutes trying to lick their own elbow...bakas. JKZ! I love you all! :D_

_REVIEW NOW! I know you can see it, so spare us all of the pain of me getting annoyed for nagging you, and you getting annoyed from me nagging you by clicking the lonely button, and reviewing! Your starving fish, cat or dog or whatever pet you do or don't have can wait two minutes as you review. In fact, they'll thank you for it, I can guarantee...actually..I don't know that. JUST REVIEW ALREADY!_

_Keep checking my profile for updates on my other stories! :D  
>DOLPHINZ-SAMA OUT!<em>


	12. Feelings Finally Discovered

_A/N: Hey! What's up? I know it's been more than two months since I've updated this story...I pulled a Shikamaru and just got too lazy to write chapter 12 right away. Then yesterday, I started writing this, and I finished it tonight! Just about three minutes ago! (It's 11:20 p.m. right now) and I'm not even tired yet! :D Yay for the energy of otakus! :D Anyways, this chapter is a great one, because we learn something new about a few different characters! :D I hope you enjoy! :) _

_Sincerely,  
>~Dolphinz514<em>

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><p><strong>Chapter 12:<strong>

**Feelings Finally Discovered**

"Where did he go this time?" Jean exclaimed as he stopped in his tracks, panting from running so hard. Roy and Riza stopped abruptly behind him, too tired to be upset at the sudden halt in their movements.

"I can't believe you lost him," Roy began as he straightened up again, turning to glance behind him to look for their victim. "It's our first mission as new comrades in the military, and we've already lost the person we have to chase!"

"Definitely not a good way to get promoted," Riza commented, even though she knew that promotions were simply out of the question until they have done a lot more missions.

"I'm sorry, but I didn't know I was the only one keeping an eye on him," Jean argued back, his subtle anger mixing with his normal tone.

"Ha ha, funny," Roy replied with an overly sarcastic voice. "Let's just keep going. We have to have him caught by sunset, and judging by the position of the sun, we've only got about two hours."

"But Maes, Rebecca and Maria are looking on the other side of Central as well," Jean added. "We should be able to find him quicker with two groups of eyes scouring the city."

"Then why are we standing here? Let's go," Riza gently ordered as she walked down the sidewalk once again, leading the two boys down the streets of Central.

A few minutes of silent focus passed by as Roy, Jean and Riza scanned the surrounding area for their prey. No signs of their victim had been seen or heard, and the group began to get more impatient by the second. Their guard slightly fell as they started losing hope of finding the wanted man.

"DUCK!" Jean yelled as he leaped forward, draping his arm around Riza's waist to bring her down with him. Roy followed suit and flattened himself against the sidewalk when a dart whizzed by Riza's back, missing Roy by a mere few inches.

Sitting up, Riza glared at the direction from where the dart came from. She saw a man that was holding a gun standing on top of a building about one hundred feet from her current location. She could tell he was angry for missing her, and he began to reload his gun.

"That was a sleeping dart," Roy commented as he observed the dart closely in his hands.

"Move, quick!" Jean yelled as he saw the man on the roof raise his gun, this time aiming at Roy. Just before he pulled the trigger, the man suddenly toppled over, his gun falling to the floor of the roof. Rebecca appeared from the behind the man she just shot and she ran over to see if he was still alive or not. Maes and Maria showed up merely seconds after, and when Rebecca told them that their victim was dead, Maes waved at the trio down on the sidewalk, passing on the news through hand signals.

"Well, that takes care of that," Jean stated as he placed his hands on his hips, shifting his weight onto one leg. He turned around to face Roy and Riza. "Shall we head back?"

"Sounds good," Riza agreed as she began walking down the sidewalk towards the headquarters. The sound of scuffling boots across the concrete told Riza that Jean and Roy were right behind her.

"You know, for a first mission, finding that wanted man was difficult," Jean pointed out as they turned a corner, the headquarters now in sight.

"I guess," Roy agreed silently, debating with himself whether or not the mission was difficult or easy.

"Hey, guys!" a voice yelled from behind the trio. They all turned around to see Rebecca running towards them, with Maes and Maria close behind her. Alex, who was carrying the dead man in a body bag, caught up to the group a minute later.

"What do you think of our first mission?" Maes asked the trio. They all exchanged glances before turning back to Maes to answer.

"I actually thought it was simple," Riza simply replied, showing little emotion. "It was a little tough locating him repeatedly, especially since he kept escaping our ranges of sight."

"Agreed. It was easy to find him the first time, but every time he hid after that wasn't as easy," Roy added as Jean began to stretch his shoulders.

"I think it could've been easier," Jean finally replied mid-stretch.

"Let's keep walking, and head back to the headquarters," Maria interrupted, pointing a delicate finger towards the large building. "I don't want to be much longer. The faster we turn in this dead body, the better the reward we'll get."

"Or if we even get one," Rebecca stated as the group returned to walking to the military headquarters.

When they all returned, Alex led the way to the Führer's office with the rest of the members assigned for the mission to turn in the dead body. They waited outside the large double-door entrance as a body guard of the Führer entered inside the office to inform the Führer of the group waiting outside. The body guard reappeared in the hallway, and allowed the group to enter the room. The Führer was waiting patiently at his desk, his hands entwined with each other as they rested on a pile of papers he was working on.

"How did it go?" the Führer asked, his revealed eye opening to intensify the question, almost hinting at there would've been bad news for the group if they failed.

Rebecca stepped forward, since she was in charge of the mission because she had already completed twenty-four others. "The mission was a success, sir."

"Good," the Führer replied, leaning back in his chair slightly. "That's what I like to hear. And the body?"

"Right here, sir." Rebecca stepped aside to allow Alex to step up beside her. He shifted his shoulder that was supporting the body towards the Führer showing that they had the body with him.

"That's fine. Thank you, Sergeant Catalina," the Führer added as his gazed shifted from the body to the members of the group. "Hand the body bag to that general over there. He'll take care of it from here. You are all dismissed."

"Thank you, sir." Rebecca bowed, as well as the rest of the group, before Alex handed the body bag to the requested general. The group then filed out of the room and walked to room 2A, the room where they had the welcoming ceremony.

"That was tense!" Maria sighed as she collapsed in a chair against a wall in the room.

"How so, Private Ross?" Alex asked as he folded his arms across his broad, muscular chest as he leaned against the wall opposite to Maria.

"The Führer just seems so...so..." Maria mumbled off as she struggled to find the right adjective.

"Judgmental?" Roy interrupted, assisting Maria with her sentence.

"Yeah!" Maria agreed, pointing a finger at Roy. "That's it! Like we were being watched like a hawk!"

"I have to admit, Private Ross," Rebecca started, leaning her back on the same wall as Alex. "When I first enrolled in the military, about a year and a half ago, when I first saw the Führer, I thought he looked kind of stalker-ish."

"I totally agree!" Maes jumped in, as he sat on the floor. "The mustache is funny."

"What's wrong with mustaches?" Alex interrogated. A month ago, when the group had met each other, Alex had no facial hair whatsoever. Now, he was planning on letting a mustache grow out, and he currently had a short, blonde mustache on his lip.

"No offense," Maes quickly added, forgetting for a split second that Alex had a similar mustache.

As if on que to ease any awkwardness, the door to the room burst open as Private Flynn stampeded into the room, her bubbly aura filling the air.

"There you are!" Ashley said as she closed the door and walked towards Maes, who looked excited in return. She gave Maes a hug, then broke their embrace so she could speak again. "How about dinner tonight? You and me?"

"I think that sounds great," Maes said, his eyes gleaming with anxious emotions.

"What time?"

"After I get off work," she simply answered, not breaking their eye contact. "I'm on my break right now, but I have to head back to fields in a second. You get off about half an hour earlier than me, so do you mind meeting me at the fields after you're done?"

"Not at all."

"Great!" Ashley cheered, her ocean orbs gleaming as well. "I have to get back to work, so I'll see you then!" With that, she winked before turning on her heels and heading out of the room, closing the door behind her.

"When did this happen?" Jean asked Maes as he placed a hand on his shoulder from behind. "You and Ashley Flynn together?"

"We're not a couple," Maes intervened, clearing the slight confusion. "We've only been dating for a week."

"She never told me!" Rebecca argued, placing her hands on her hips in a jokingly angry fashion. She then added with a sly smirk,"I'll have her give me all the details later."

"I haven't heard of this, either," Roy pointed out.

"Then again, you have seemed a little _extra cheerful_ lately," Riza added, smiling slightly.

"Yeah, I figured you two would need some time _alone _every once in a while," Maes smirked, winking devilishly.

"Excuse me?" Roy questioned, raising his hands.

"I'm kidding," Maes responded before Riza and Roy got awkward towards each other again. He paused a moment, before smiling again and adding, "Or am I?"

"What is our next mission, Sergeant Catalina?" Riza quickly interrupted, changing the subject.

_Why does Maes keep doing that? _Roy thought to himself as Rebecca talked to Riza about their next mission in a few days. _Bring up me and Riza as if we were a romantic couple? I don't like her that way! Is he just wanting to torment me? If so, it's not cool. I know Riza doesn't like me romantically either, so the feelings mutual! Why, Maes, why? _Roy scolded Maes mentally as he thought about how Maes could even see him and Riza being in a relationship.

_Is he just teasing me to make me feel awkward, or do I unknowingly show affection towards Riza? _Roy looked at Riza at that thought, and blushed slightly. To avoid any comments about his reddening face, Roy walked out of the room and headed towards the bathroom. Once inside, he turned on the facet to wash his face with cold water to clear his thoughts. _Am I lying to myself? Do I actually have feelings for Riza, but just don't know it? Nah, impossible. They are _my _feelings; I would know whether or not I love or even have a crush on somebody._

Roy looked up to the mirror to see his baby-faced visage was still slightly blushing. _Although, what's not to like about her? She's intelligent, humorous when she wants to be, she's caring, and she's strategic, too. She makes anybody feel like they're worthwhile, and she's made any of my depressed days cheerful again. Not to mention her eyes. Oh, those gorgeous honey-brown orbs that continually gleam no matter how she's feeling, and they outshine the stars on any night. She's beautiful. Heck, everything about her is beautiful. _

Roy straightened his body, eyes widened slightly realizing what he just thought. _Oh my gosh...I'm in love with her! _This caused Roy to blush even harder than before. He grabbed a paper towel, dried off his face, then walked towards the garbage can to throw it away. He opened the bathroom door, and turned right to head down the hallway that led to room 2A. In the hallway about ten feet from the bathroom, was Riza leaning against the wall. When she heard feet moving across the floor, she looked up to see a flushed Roy. _Oh great...perfect timing, Riza. _

"Private Mustang," Riza began, remembering to call Roy by his military ranking instead of his real name, since they weren't out of the headquarters yet. "Is everything okay?"

"Uh..." Roy muttered, gazing into Riza's eyes that he had just described to himself. _Snap out of it! Pull yourself together so she won't catch on! _"Ye-yeah! I'm fine. Sorry if I made you worried."

"I wasn't too worried, but I was slightly," Riza admitted, beginning to walk back towards the room. Roy walked quickly to catch up to her, then slowed to her pace so we wouldn't pass her. "You suddenly left. Did something bother you?"

"I'm alright now, I just needed to clear my head," Roy quickly lied, his left hand rubbing the back of his head as he tried to hide his emotions of infatuation.

Riza opened the door to room 2A and entered the room with Roy right behind her.

Roy found himself beginning to sweat from being close to Riza, and began to panic about his feelings towards Riza. _Now that I know I'm in love with her, what am I going to do?_

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><p><em>AN: YAY! :D What do you think? I had a fun time writing about Roy's discription for Riza. OOH! And Freyja, when I said "infatuation" in the end of this chapter, I totally thought of Josie in health when Narcissistic Personality Disorder was being described to her, and "infatuation" was used, and she was like "THAT'S DISGUSTING!" Right? XD (Sorry, readers, inside joke, hehe.) So, what will happen next? ...I have no flipping clue. I wright whenever I have an epiphany of what I want to write. Fortunately, they come frequently. :) So...review? Por favor? ("Por favor" means "please" in Spanish, for those of you who don't know. :3) I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and please review? :D I will love you forever, and if you don't review, then "I VILL PUNCH YOU IN ZE THROAT!" (Another inside joke, hehe. ) If any of you can tell me what anime character said that, I will give you imaginary kudos. :3 They're better than real kudos, believe me. Unless they're the M&M's ones...those are pretty good. So is caramel. (Another inside joke, bahahaha!)_

_Love you all as much as Honey-sempai loves cake!  
>~Dolphinz514<em>


	13. Missing Piece of the Puzzle

_A/N: Hey, wassup? ...Okay, yes, yell at me, I know...it's been FOREVAH since I've last updated this story...or my other on-going story...hehe...he... ._  
><em>Mentally slap me in the face, whatever will make you feel better, but at least I have a chapter up, right? :) So...basically why I haven't updated is because after writing my last chapter I was thinking, "Well, crap. What is going to happen now?" I was in a point in the story where I wasn't sure where it would or <span>could<span> go next. Well today-(5-15-12)-I had a random mental genius moment, and started writing! ...It ended being about seven pages long...so this chapter is a little bit more lengthy than my other ones, but it's a very good chapter, not gonna lie! (That sounded WAY cocky...I apologize, haha.) _  
><em>Okay, enough of my apologizing and rambling...<em>

_Enjoy chapter 13~!_

_~Dolphinz514_

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><p>Chapter 13:<br>Missing Piece of the Puzzle

"UGH!" Roy cried in distress as his hands flew off the desk, sending papers to the floor. "I'll never find it!"

"Um...Roy?" Maes started, a little surprised from the sudden outburst from his dark-haired friend. "Are you okay?"

"No, Maes, I am _not _okay."

"Can I ask why?" Maes slid his own papers he was studying and turned his body to face his stressed friend.

Roy turned around in the wheeled chair he was sitting in so he could talk to Maes directly. His face was full of features showing not only the obvious stress, but the lack of sleep he's been receiving for the past few days, due to his studying up late. His eyes donned slight lines underneath the lower lid and his black orbs have dulled slightly. "I have been searching for the secret to master the Flame Alchemy every night this week."

"I thought you were studying for our tests coming up soon," Maes interrupted, pointing to his pile of papers he was studying moments ago. "How come you weren't?"

"I don't know, Maes, okay? I've been searching for this secret for _years. Years! _I keep re-writing the riddle that Berthold had given to me the night of his passing. And no matter how many times I look at it, I never solve the puzzle! It's been driving me insane! I want to be a great alchemist, Maes. One that can be depended on to save our country and the people within it! How can I do that if I don't know the secret?"Roy spilled out, allowing all of his bottled-up frustration to flow freely.

Maes just sat there trying to find the words to respond to his friend. His mouth repeatedly opened and closed as he struggled to find the right answer.

Roy just sighed frustratedly as he ran a hand through his messy hair.

"I don't know, Roy," Maes finally spoke. "I really don't know, I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Roy answered back, putting up a hand towards Maes to get him to stop apologizing. "I shouldn't be putting all of my stress and problems on you; it's not fair of me and _I'm _sorry."

"It's alright," Maes replied as he placed a comforting hand on Roy's left shoulder. "You'll figure it out sooner or later."

"I'm back," a voice called from the other side of the room with the sound of a door closing following. Riza walked across the room to the kitchen and placed the bags of groceries she was carrying on the counter. "I believe I got everything on our list," she began as she started to unpack the bags. "And if I forgot something, well too bad."

"Thanks, Riza," Maes responded. He stood up and walked to Riza to help her unload the paper bags.

"Thanks, Maes," Riza said quickly as she placed a can of tomato sauce in one of the cupboards. She that Roy hadn't responded to her walking in the room or hadn't stood up to help put away the groceries. She looked over to where Roy was sitting to see a exhausted body slumped onto the desk with face buried in his hands. "Roy, are you okay?"

Letting out a desperate sigh, Roy stood up and shook his hair once more. He slowly made his way to the kitchen and grabbed a package of pasta out of one of the bags on the kitchen counter. "I will be, don't worry."

Riza remained silent as she watched her nearly-lifeless friend place the pasta inside the pantry. He turned back around to grab another item of food when he noticed Riza's very concerned eyes gazing on his own. Roy immediately noticed that she was trying to read his own emotions.

"Riza, I promise I'm okay," Roy assured once more, placing a hand on her head. "Don't worry about me; I'm just a little stressed and sleep-deprived, that's all." He ruffled her hair slightly before grabbing a can of green beans.

"Okay," Riza said as she turned around to grab two packages of beef. _He seems more than just a "little stressed." What's on his mind? I've been finding it harder to read his emotions lately. _Riza glanced at Roy as he put the green beans in the same cupboard that she put the tomato sauce into previously.

Maes had put the last item of food away and began to fold up the brown paper bags to place under the sink. Once he did that, he placed a hand on Roy's shoulder once more and leaned in to whisper into his ear.

"Don't worry, Roy Boy," Maes comforted. "You'll figure it out eventually." Maes turned and left the kitchen to go sit on one of the two beds in the room to resume his studying.

Riza watched Roy return to the desk before she glanced at Maes with jealousy. _What's bothering Roy, and why won't he tell me? _She remained in the kitchen as she tried to figure out how to get Roy to tell her what he was upset about. Deciding that she didn't have a plan that would work efficiently, she whispered Maes' name to get his attention.

"Hmm?" Maes looked up from his papers to see Riza walking to the door that leads into the hallway of the hotel. She reached the door, opened it and motioned a hand at Maes to follow her out in the hallway. Glancing at Roy before he stood up, Maes walked out into the hallway with Riza.

Riza closed the door behind them as she glanced both ways down the hallway to make sure no one else was there. She then turned to Maes to look at him in the eye. "What is wrong with him, Maes?"

"What?"

"Roy. What's wrong with Roy?" Riza said sternly but quietly, trying to keep her voice down so the neighbors wouldn't be bothered.

"Oh..." Maes said, his voice trailing off. He rubbed the back of his neck with his right hand as he placed his left on his hip. "He's just stressed."

"I know that, Maes. I just want to know why."

"He said that he's been looking for something that he's been searching for for years." Maes answered slowly, gazing at the door leading to their hotel room.

"What is it he's looking for?" Riza's voice began to grow slightly desperate.

"I don't know, exactly," Maes replied honestly, keeping his stare on the door. "Some secret of some sort."

"He keeps telling me it's nothing and keeps shoving it off like it's no big deal. _Obviously, _it's a big deal," Riza said frustratedly.

"Maybe he's saying that so you won't have to deal with the stress he's dealing with," Maes concurred as he returned his olive-green gaze to Riza.

"Huh?"

"You know you mean a lot to him," Maes continued, putting his hands in his pockets. "He doesn't want to see you upset and stressed because of his own problems he needs to figure out on his own. He doesn't want you to have to deal with his troubles when you should be progressing in your own life."

"...I-" Riza stuttered, her voice cracking. "I didn't think of it that way."

Maes shrugged his shoulders in response.

"But-But how come he won't tell me?" Riza asked as he folded her arms across her chest.

"Why don't you ask him yourself?" Maes suggested, motioning a hand towards the door. "You've known him _way _longer than I have, so you're more special to him. He might tell you something that he didn't tell me, but you'll never know if you don't try."

Riza simply stood still as she took her turn to stare at their door.

"I'll go down to the foyer so you guys can talk. I'll come back in an hour...or just come get me whenever you're done. Whatever works," Maes finished as he headed down the hallway away from Riza.

Riza placed one of her delicate hands on the ornate doorknob. She found it slightly harder to turn than normal due to her trembling fingers. _Why am I shaking? _

Riza looked up at the door with her hand on the doorknob. _Am I nervous? Why? _Finally regaining the strength to calm her shaking body, she turned the knob and entered the room. Roy turned around to see who was returning before turning back to the desk.

_"What is it he's looking for?" Riza's voice began to grow slightly desperate. _

_ "I don't know, exactly," Maes replied honestly, keeping his stare on the door. "Some secret of some sort."_

As Riza remembered what Maes had told her, she walked to Roy and sat on the desk where there were no papers. Roy's gaze rested on the paper he was writing on.

_What is he writing?_ Riza thought as she focused her eyes on Roy's writing. On the paper was written "The secret is in a place that has one life, but has a spirit that will last forever." repeatedly on the page. On the side of the paper were little foot notes with different items and locations to where the secret was hidden. _Is he searching for...the secret of mastering Flame Alchemy?_

"Um...Roy?" Riza began warily, worried that it was a bad time to talk to Roy.

"Hmm?" Roy answered, looking up to meet Riza's gaze. He then glanced around to see where Maes had gone. Seeing that he wasn't in the room, he looked at Riza once again. "Where's Maes?"

"Oh, he's down in the foyer," Riza answered. "He...uh...he left so I could talk to you privately."

_Is she okay? _Roy immediately thought as he straightened out in his chair. He stared into Riza's eyes to see that she was not only concerned, but scared and worried, too. _Why does she need to talk to my privately? Does she know about how I feel about her?_ Roy stood up to hide his slight panic at the thought of Riza knowing he was in love with her. "I won't be able to focus clearly if I'm at the desk." He sat on the edge of the bed, and looked at Riza again. "I'm listening. Is everything okay?"

"I don't know, Roy. You won't tell me anything."

"Oh, about today...or the past few days. It's nothing to worry about Riza. I don't want you to have to deal with it, too-"

"But you told Maes!" Riza interrupted desperately. She was not going to let Roy get away from this conversation. "I'm worried about you, Roy! Please tell me what's wrong. You used to tell me everything..."

"Riza, I..."

"But I won't make you...not if you don't want to," Riza said sadly as a small tear fell down her cheek and onto her lap.

"Riza," Roy started as he stood up to walk to where Riza was sitting on the desk still. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a hug. "I'll tell you what's wrong." He pulled back slightly as Riza lifted up her head. Roy brought a hand up to her face and wiped away a tear before it fell down her cheek. "Please stop crying."

"I'm sorry," Riza muttered, dropping her gaze to the floor.

Roy moved away from Riza only to sit back in the desk he was in moments ago. He grabbed all of the papers he was currently studying and spread them across the desk, displaying all the work he's done.

"When your father was still alive and teaching me alchemy," Roy began as he was straightening out the papers. "He told me that there is a secret out there somewhere that can give me the power to learn and control all of the Flame Alchemy's tricks."

Roy shifted in his chair so he was leaning back to meet Riza's gaze. "Before he passed away, he asked me to take care of you so he could know that you were safe no matter what. But that's not all he asked me to do...or told me to do."

"What do you mean?" Riza interrogated, her tears finally stopping.

"He told me that he knows where the location is to the secret of mastering Flame Alchemy. He gave me one puzzle, or clue to find it, and he gave me many warnings about it as well."

"What kind of warnings?"

Roy folded his arms across his chest as he continued. "He told me that if people find out about the location, they will do anything to get it, if they are motivated to find it, that is. Your father said that they will even kill anyone or anything in their way if necessary, so he told me that I need to stay safe when searching for the secret, and to keep you unharmed, as well."

"Wow...that's...scary..." Riza stammered as her voice trailed off. _I had no idea! Why didn't my father warn me _before _the secret was created?_

"Are you okay?" Roy asked, leaning in towards Riza.

"Yeah! Sorry, distracted momentarily," Riza answered quickly, changing the subject back to the secret and away from her current emotional state. "What was the clue?"

"Oh," Roy said, sitting forward in his chair and pointing to a paper. "He told me that 'The secret is in a place that has one life, but has a spirit that will last forever.' I've been trying to figure out that for the past 10 years, Riza. I started Flame Alchemy when I was nine, and now I'm 19! And I haven't gotten anywhere _near _to finding the secret's location."

"I'm sorry, Roy."

"Do you know anything about this?" Roy questioned Riza, looking at her once more.

Riza shifted slightly as she ran through her memories, scanning for anything that would help Roy. "Sorry, I can't think of anything. My father didn't tell me much."

"It's okay. Thanks for listening," Roy finished as he turned back to write on the papers some more.

Riza jumped off the desk and was about to walk away towards the bathroom when Roy grabbed her hand, causing her to turn and face him.

"And I'm sorry for not telling you right away. I've known you the longest, and you deserve to know. I will never keep anything from you again, I promise. _Anything._" Roy stated before releasing Riza's hand.

Riza simply nodded before heading into the bathroom and closing the door quickly behind her. _Why did he have to say that? _She thought to herself as she leaned against the bathroom door. _Why did he have to promise me that he'd be honest with me from now on? ...Especially when I can't do the same!_

Riza slid down the door until she sat on the tile floor beneath her. She folded her knees to her chest, hugged her legs and rested her chin on her knees. _Should I have told him?_

The sound of a door opening and shutting came from outside the bathroom. Riza heard Maes' voice flow in the bedroom as he started a conversation with Roy. Riza ignored the rest of the noise as she returned to her thoughts.

_Should I have told him I know where the secret is?_

* * *

><p><em>AN: Aaaaannnnndddd it's done! Well, just this chapter at least. If my entire story was done...well...that would just suck. It would probably be my worst story ever. XD So, lemme know what you think, please! Please review? _

_I'm theoretically on my knees here pleading you to review!_

Click the button! Look, they even made it pretty for you!

Thanks for reading!

~Dolphinz514


	14. The Secret Revealed

_A/N: *Phew~!* This was a difficult chapter to write, especially the suspense leading up to the end. I'm not gonna lie, but when I was writing this, I could feel the tension building in my own body, and I thought "WHY AM I NERVOUS? I'm the one writing the chapter!" XD I just hope it's amazing for you guys, too. And what you've all been waiting for, as the title suggests, Roy finally finds the secret for mastering Flame Alchemy! :D But how? Read and find out!_

Enjoy!  
>~Dolphinz514<p>

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><p>Chapter 14:<p>

The Secret Revealed

_"Why are you trusting me with the knowledge of the secret, Father?" Riza questions as her father continues to rest in his bed. His health has gotten worse, and at this rate, he was not going to make it through the night._

_ "Riza, I gave the knowledge to you a while ago. Why are you asking me this now?" Berthold responded, his dull eyes wandering around the room._

_ "Because, Father, you're ill. I may not get to ask you this question again." Riza's eyes began to tear up slightly. She loved her father, even though he was an abusive and strict mentor to Roy, he always meant well, and she knew that. Riza scooted closer to her father's death bed and held his hand._

_ "Because I know you'll be strong enough one day to keep the secret safe."_

_ "How can I do that, Father? Aren't you worried someone might try to steal it?" Riza kept pushing her questions until she would get the answer she wants or needs to hear._

_ "I'm not too worried about that, Riza."_

_"Why not?"_

_"Roy has become a more talented alchemist, Riza. I know you two have a friendship that has an unbreakable bond. You also have your friend down the street: Maes Hughes. He'll be there for you, too." Berthold finally rested his weary gaze on Riza's interrogating stare._

_ "But they're both planning on going into the military! How are they going to 'be there for me' if they're not here?" Riza's voice became desperate as she began to understand less and less of what her father was telling her._

_ "There will be ways, my dear. Believe me. They will never leave your side."_

_ Riza wasn't sure how to respond. She continued looking in the eyes of her father before looking to the wood-paneled floor. _

_ "Riza," Berthold continued. Riza looked up once again. "Please fetch Roy, and tell him I need to speak with him before I pass on."_

_ "Father," Riza mumbled as she squeezed her father's hand tighter than she ever had in her entire life. She kissed him on the cheek before standing up to do as he asked._

_ She walked down the hallway to the study and opened the door to find Roy sitting at the desk writing on some papers. Hearing the sound of the door opening, Roy turned around to see Riza standing in the doorway._

_ "Riza? What is it?" Roy simply asked as Riza walked towards him._

_ "My father wishes to speak to you." Riza's voice was merely a whisper as a few more tears fell down her face. _

_ Roy stood up and embraced Riza in an attempt for comforting her. "Thank you," he said before he headed out of the study and down the hallway. _

_ Riza remained in the study and she turned to look at what Roy was working on. She picked up a few of the papers that had Roy's neat handwriting on it. Written on the paper was a few equations that Riza wasn't able to decipher. She picked up another piece of paper that had a new transmutation circle drawn sloppily on it, almost as if it was a sketch and not the final drawing._

_ "He must be working on a new technique," Riza muttered to herself as she set the papers back down. She walked towards the hallway again and closed the door to the study once outside of the room. She walked back to her father's room and remained in the doorway as she watched her father and Roy speak to each other for the last time._

_ "The secret is in a place that has one life, but has a spirit that will last forever." With his final words lingering in the air, Berthold closed his eyes for the last time._

_ "Sir?" Roy asked silently as he watched his mentor die right in front of him. He heard sobbing and turned his attention to the sad sound. Riza was in the doorway, covering her mouth attempting to keep her cries of sorrow quiet._

_ "Riza," Roy started as he stood up and hugged his distraught friend as tight as he could. Riza wrapped her arms around Roy's neck in response as she cried on his __shoulder. "Everything is going to be okay."_

Letting a loud gasp escape her, Riza shot up from her bed. "Father!" she yelled, remembered his devastating death. Gazing around the hotel room, she remembered that she wasn't seven anymore crying uncontrollably in her best friends arms. She was sixteen and in the military.

"Riza?" Maes asked from across the room. He was sitting on his bed, his lower body still under the sheets, as he scratched his head.

Riza looked over at Maes, still panting a little from her strange dream. _It was just my memory in a dream. _

"Are you okay?" Maes continued as he yawned obnoxiously.

Shuffling occurred from beside Maes and Roy's bed occurred, drawing the attention of Maes and Riza. Roy was waking up as well from the noise in the room, and his stretching was causing his papers to fall on the floor.

"Glad to see you've made some progress of getting some proper sleep, Roy Boy," Maes commented sarcastically.

Roy sat up and turned around to see Maes and Riza looking at him. His black hair was messy and his midnight orbs were still dull, but had a little more light in them due to the small amount of sleep he received.

"What's going on?" Roy muttered quietly, as he rubbed his neck.

"Nothing," Riza answered, her voice shaking. "I'm sorry to wake you both."

"What's wrong?" Roy asked again, realizing how nervous Riza was.

"I just had another freaky dream...that's all." Riza laid back down on her bed and pulled the covers over her shoulders.

"Oh, okay. They really seem to bother you, Riza. Hopefully they'll stop soon," Maes said as he laid back down on the bed as well.

Roy slowly stood up and shuffled his feet over to the empty side of the bed he was sharing with Maes. He rested himself under the covers and rolled on his side facing away from everyone else. _I wonder what's been bothering her?_

When Roy heard steady and even breathing, he knew someone was asleep.

"Maes?" Roy whispered into the darkness.

"What, Roy?" Maes grumbled, now getting grumpy he can't fall asleep.  
><em><br>I guess Riza's asleep, then._

"Sorry, but I need to ask you something."

Maes turned on his back and looked up at the ceiling. "What is it?"

"Do you know what Riza's dream was about?"

Maes looked at Roy. "No idea, honestly. She sat up quickly and shouted 'Father!' in her sleep. That's when I woke up, and she looked terrified. Almost like something was ferociously eating at her."

"She must have been dreaming about the night Berthold died."

"Was it that traumatic for her?" Maes questioned, remembering Berthold being a frightening figure to him when he was a kid.

"Apparently," Roy answered. "I thought she wasn't that close to him, but that night he died, I found out I was wrong. I wonder if there are other secrets I don't know about her."

Maes turned his olive-green gaze to Riza. "She doesn't seem like someone to keep secrets."

"Everyone has a secret, Maes. Sometimes a dark secret."

"You really think so?" Maes asked as he turned towards Roy again. He propped himself on his right elbow.

"I do," Roy answered slowly, his stare on the ceiling.

A large smirk crawled its way onto Maes' face as he leaned in close to Roy. "What's _your_ dark secret?" He giggled like a small boy.

Roy pushed Maes away from him and sat up. "Not funny, Maes!" Roy said smiling, trying to hold back his laughter from his friend being creepy. "I'm serious here."

Maes was laughing quietly. "I'm sorry, but I couldn't help myself."

"You are a weird child," Roy stated.

"I'm older than you, Roy Boy," Maes teased as he poked Roy's arm.

"Doesn't mean you're any less weird," Roy responded to his older friend's childish acts.

Maes just laughed again before sitting up to shrug. "That just means I'm more exciting to be around."

"I just hope she'll be okay," Roy added calmly as he placed his gaze on his hands.

"I'm sure she will be just fine. She's always gotten through whatever tough event was thrown at her."

"I know, but this seems...different," Roy replied, not moving his eyes.

"'Different' how?" Maes interrogated Roy as he yawned once more. "Answer quickly please, 'cause I'm freaking tired, man."

"I don't know, Maes," Roy finished as he suppressed a small laugh at Maes' impatience. He laid back down and pulled the covers over his stomach, just allowing his shoulders and arms to be free. "I don't know."

The two young men laid there in silence until Maes piped up again.

"So really, Roy, what's your dark secret?"

"Go to bed, Maes!"

"Maes, did you eat all of the cereal?" Riza asked from inside the kitchen. She walked into the room with an empty box of cereal in her hands.

"Um...depends...?" Maes replied slowly but carefully, trying to conceal his obvious smile.

"Depends on what? That I bought it two days ago, and I only had one bowl? And it's already empty?" Riza argued back, shaking around the box for emphasis.

"Well...maybe I...well, didn't Roy eat some, too?" Maes responded, hoping that he wouldn't have to feel all of Riza's wrath by himself.

"I don't like that kind, Maes," Roy chimed in smiling. He knew what was coming for Maes.

Maes looked back at Riza. "Well, then in that case, I did," he replied with a big grin on his face.

Riza smacked her forehead as she let out an exasperated sigh. Laughing a little, she threw the box away. "Maes, what am I going to do with you? What am I going to eat for breakfast?"

"Sorry, Riza," Maes apologized with a chuckle. He stood up and walked to the table and grabbed his wallet. "The store's just a few blocks down. I'll go grab some more."

"Yeah, you better," Riza teased shaking her fist jokingly.

"See ya guys later." Maes closed the door to their hotel room and headed down to the supermarket.

"I hope he gets the right brand," Riza mentioned as she walked over to Roy who had resumed working on his puzzle. She noticed that Roy had a little more energy today with his work and was glad he had received more sleep than the night before.

"I'm glad the Führer gave us the day off. I thought that was weird, though, too. But I'm not going to argue," Riza added with a smile.

"No kidding," Roy agreed, not lifting up his head. "Maybe...If I just use...ugh!" Roy placed the pencil down on the desk and stood up and walked to the kitchen. "I need to take a break from that stupid riddle before I go freaking insane!" He rubbed his hands with his face.

"I think you're a little late, Roy," Riza joked.

"Ha. Ha. You're funny," Roy said sarcastically with a smile. "What am _I _going to eat for breakfast?"

Riza watched Roy scan the kitchen for various foods to eat as she sat on the counter top. She realized that even though he got some sleep and had a little more energy, he still had small bags under his eyes, and he wasn't as peppy as usual. _Not that he was always very peppy to begin with, _Riza thought.

_How much longer can I sit back and watch him destroy himself over something he can't find. Especially when it's my fault because I won't tell him where the secret is._

"Riza, is it okay with you if I eat the last few eggs?" Roy questioned as he grabbed the carton of eggs from the small fridge.

"Yeah, I don't care." Riza resumed to her thoughts. _I can't do this anymore. I know he can't either, but yet he keeps pushing himself. That's it. I'm going to tell him. _

_ Now._

"Roy, make eggs in a second," Riza said as she slid off the counter. She grabbed Roy's hand and led him to their beds. She led Roy to sit on his bed as she remained standing. "Roy, I need to tell you something and I need to tell you now before I lose it."

"Okay, what is it?" Roy asked, glancing over at the eggs. _I hope it's quick...I'm really hungry. I hope the eggs won't get too warm before I fry them. _While Roy was thinking, Riza had said something that Roy didn't hear.

"Sorry, what?" Roy questioned, his full attention on Riza.

"I haven't been completely honest with you, Roy," Riza repeated herself as she shifted uncomfortably.

"That's okay, Riza-"

"No, Roy, it's not okay," Riza interrupted.

"Why is it not okay?" Roy interrogated intently, sitting up slightly.

"Because I know where the secret is to mastering Flame Alchemy for nine years, and I haven't told you," Riza said quickly, hoping that Roy wouldn't be as mad as she was expecting.

Roy immediately stood up. "What do you mean you know where it is?" Roy said, a hint of surprise, relief and anger in his voice all at the same time.

"I- I'm sorry I didn't tell you, Roy. I was too afraid to, and my father told me that I would know when the right time to tell you was," Riza stuttered out, too stunned to remove her scared gaze from Roy's upset one.

"It's okay, Riza, but tell me where is the secret?" Roy responded, placing both of his hands on Riza's shoulders.

"Well...you see, it's..um..." Riza tried to find away to tell Roy the location, but she found it to be more difficult than she thought.

"Take your time, Riza," Roy comforted as he sat back down on the bed with Riza still standing.

Riza looked up at her best friend as she drew in a large breath before spilling out not only her father's deepest secret, but her own:

"I am the secret."

* * *

><p><em>AN: Woo, baby, that was intense, huh? XD Well, what did you guys think? And how will Roy respond after that? And how will it change their friendship? Or WILL it change their friendship? Will it diminish their friendship?  
>You'll have to wait and see~<em>

_(Cruel, aren't I? I just finished watching some Soul Eater episodes with Medusa in it, so I feel a little..."sadistic" I guess you could say right now. I'm normally not, so please don't be TOO scared. XD)_

_Thanks for reading, and please review! :)_

_~Dolphin514_


	15. Created to Burn

A/N: Hey! It's about time I updated, right? Well, I was up until 2 in the morning last night (12/24/12) and I figured that I would give you all a Christmas present and finally update at least one of my stories! :D So, I put a good two hours of work into this, so I really hope you enjoy it! ^^

Roy knows where the secret is now, but he doesn't realize the cost of him now knowing. Will he be able to handle what he has to do?

Well, read and find out! ;)  
>Merry Christmas, and enjoy~!<p>

~Dolphinz514

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><p>Chapter 15:<p>

"What do you mean you 'are the secret'?" Roy asked slowly, not sure whether to be furious that Riza lied to him about the secret's location, or whether to be confused at what she had meant.

"It's...It's complicated..." Riza answered quietly, her answer trailing off. "It was the only way my father could conceal it correctly."

"I don't understand."

"I know, bu-"

"You lied to me?" Roy questioned, gazing at the floor. His head raised slowly and his onyx stare seemed to torture Riza's chocolate.

"Roy, I can-"

"You _lied _to me," Roy repeated, more of a statement of disbelief then a question this time.

"I'm so sorry! I wanted to tell you for _years, _Roy!" Riza quickly replied, her eyes starting to water up with beginnings of tears. "My father forbade me from telling you until you were ready."

"I've been searching for ten years! Why wouldn't I be ready?" Roy interrogated, standing up now. Riza backed up a step, not wanting to be under the pressure of Roy's anger; she had no rational answer for his question. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Because, I...I-" Riza stammered, not sure how to word her sentence.

"'Because' what, Riza?"

"Because I didn't want you to get hurt!" Riza responded, her voice trembling with fear.  
>For once, Roy didn't have a response; no comforting reply nor snide remark. He simply stared at his troubled friend. <em>She was concerned for my safety? <em>Roy slowly and frustratingly ran his fingers through his midnight hair. He turned to look out the window, his hand resting on the back of his neck and his back turned to Riza. _I know she's worried, but... _He rotated his head to look at her eyes, which happened to be fixed on the ground as tears fell down her cheeks and onto the soft carpet. Her lips trembled as well as her entire body, speechless regardless of her frantic search for the right words. _Why is she so obsessed with making sure I'm okay? There's something more behind what she's telling me...I doubt her father wanted her to be this extreme._ Letting out a exasperated sigh, Roy stared at the window once more, before facing Riza.

Riza kept her hands intertwined on her lap as she refused to meet Roy's gaze. The sound of his feet shuffling across the carpet grew louder as he walked towards her, stopping right in front of her. _Please just yell at me, or tell me to go away or something...just...get it over with. _Riza's chocolate eyes widened and were removed from the floor when Roy knelt down and wrapped his arms around her.

"Thank you, Riza," Roy whispered, as he caressed her hair in an attempt to calm her down. He leaned back, his arms still resting around her shoulders as he gazed into her eyes. "I've been overreacting, and it is not right to be angry with you."

"Roy, it's fine-"

"No, it's not. Friends don't treat friends like that; especially best friends." Roy lifted up one of his hands and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "And I am very sorry," he added as he wiped away one of her tears before it helplessly fell to the ground. _I hope I never have to tell her those words again: "I'm sorry." I don't want to ever put her in this much worry or pain that I have to say those words...she may not believe me the next time._

Riza was silent again as her mouth opened and closed, looking again for words. Instead of talking, she decided upon enveloping Roy in her own arms. "Thank you, Roy. And I'm sorry, too."

Roy stood back up, strolled back to his bed and sat on the edge. He put his face in his palm and released a small chuckle.

"Why are you laughing?" Riza inquired, standing up as well.

"I can't believe how naïve I've been. I've been looking for the secret for years..." Roy's voice trailed off as he looked at Riza.

"And it's been beside me all along."

Riza smiled as she relieved a giggle as well. "It's not like I help exactly, either."

"Well, I'm not upset about that anymore. I'm just glad I can get normal sleep at last." Roy fell backwards and splayed his body across the bed, smiling for the first time in a while.

"That would be nice for all of us, I think," Riza commented, remembering a few times when Roy's exhaustion affected the mood of Maes and herself as well. When one of the trio was frustrated, so were the other two. It couldn't be helped, really. In fact, that's how most people were.

"So, Riza," Roy began as he propped himself up on his elbows. His face donned a pondering appearance as he stared at Riza. "You say that _you _are the secret?"

"...Yes," Riza reluctantly replied.

"What do you exactly mean by that?" Roy continued. "Do you have information of where to get the secret, like you are the key to the secret or something? Or are you literally the secret."

"I am literally the secret," she answered slowly. "Well, sort of..."

"Sort of?"

Riza glanced at Roy before looking back at the ground, her face turning into a soft red. "I guess...I'll have to show you to make you understand."

"Okay...?" Roy shifted so he was sitting up again. "Show me how?"

"You'll see," Riza assured as she stood up. "Just close your eyes."

"Close my eyes? But how can you show me if I have my eyes clo-"

"Just trust me, and close your eyes." Riza folded her arms, waiting for Roy to do as he was told.

"Fine, fine." Roy closed his eyes and placed his hands over his face. "Now I can't see."

"Good." Riza waved a hand in front of Roy's face to double check he couldn't see. When she deemed it alright, she straightened out and turned away from Roy. "I'll be explaining something while your eyes are closed."

"That's fine." Roy's attention was averted from Riza to the door being locked. "Why are you locking the door?"

"Just to be safe," Riza answered as she had her back to Roy again. "So, do you remember that one night during that week of tough training my father put you through when he sent you to stay with Maes for a few days?" Riza slid her fingertips under the hem of her T-shirt and pulled the article of clothing over her head.

"Yes, what about it?" Roy heard something soft collapse on the floor. _Was that a blanket? No, the sound of the object falling didn't sound that heavy. It sounded almost like clothing being tossed on the ground..._

_ What is she doing?_

"Well, there was a reason for that. He told you I was sick, and made you leave so you wouldn't get 'sick,' too. He lied. He was really hiding his secret of mastering Flame Alchemy, and he didn't want the risk of you seeing it." She shivered slightly as the cold air swirled across her upper and lower back.

_I figured she wasn't sick; she didn't have any symptoms. I'm not surprised Berthold lied to me though. It's in his mysterious nature._

"The night you left, he told me that he would be giving me the secret. He told me the conditions and what I would have to do in order to keep this safe." Riza reached both hands behind her, her fingers fondling with the clasp of her bra. "I of course, had no option but to agree; I was my father's last resort for the well-being of his secret, but I was the best option." She finally got the clasp unhooked and weaved her arms out of the straps, letting the garment fall to the ground beside the shirt. She folded her arms over her chest to prevent Roy from seeing anything but her back. "Okay, you can open."

Roy removed his hands from his closed eyes, and opened his ebony orbs. His eyes adjusted to the dim lighting in the room before he realized he was staring at Riza's naked back. Blushing a little, he admired the soft luminescent glow that radiated of her pale but perfect skin, and her blonde hair glistened in the moonlight from a partially open window. But what drew his attention the most, was the oddly shaped, but familiar pattern that danced across her smooth back in a tattoo. _The secret!_

"This is where it has been hidden." Riza's cheeks were covered by a rosy color as her eyes looked everywhere but back at Roy's. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner."

"Riza..." Roy started, unsure of what to say. He slowly stood up and walked up to Riza, his gaze not moving from her tattoo. When he was about six inches away from her body, he slowly reached out his hand to skim across the secret. _It's beautiful..._ Roy's eyes traveled from the tattoo to Riza's shoulders, neck and arms. _It's not the only thing that is beautiful._

Riza jumped slightly at the sudden contact, blushing even harder. She then relaxed back into his touch as she remained standing in one spot, eyes on the floor and arms across her chest.

"Sorry," Roy whispered.

"Roy," Riza spoke softly as she shifted slightly to meet Roy's gaze. "There is a catch to you finally knowing the secret."

"What is that?"

Riza remained still and quiet, leaving Roy in anticipation for the answer. Riza went into a state of mixed feelings of chill and pleasure as Roy's warm breath ghosted over the nape of her heck. She closed her eyes and slightly leaned her head back, almost wishing that his lips were gliding over her neck instead.

"Riza?" Roy questioned, a puzzled look on his face as she opened her eyes again with a blush deeper than before.

"Sorry, I'm just a bit...sidetracked," She said quickly, not wanting Roy to jump to any conclusions. "I'm just concerned about the catch."

"Which is...?"

Riza fixed her gaze on Roy's once more, pools of brown and black melting together. She inhaled deeply before spilling out the reply, "Once you memorize the secret well enough to master Flame Alchemy, the secret must be destroyed."

"Does that mean, the tattoo needs to be removed?"

"Yes. Or distorted in some way. If just removed entirely, it must be done so in pieces, not by one large piece or else we risk someone else discovering it."

"So what's the way you suggest we do so?"

"By burning part of it." Riza didn't removed her eyes from Roy's, her stern stare hiding trace amounts of fear.

Roy's realization settled and he immediately shook his head. "No, Riza. No. I can't do that to you. No way."

"It's the only way, Roy."

"No, I'm sure there's some other way. I can't harm you like that. I just can't!"

"What other option is there? If removed by surgery, the surgeon will know the secret! We can't risk that."

Roy sighed again as he stared holes into the floor. "I can't do that to you," he repeated lightly.

"It's not a factor of whether you can't or can. It's whether you will or won't." Riza stated soothingly, as she faced Roy and took a step towards him, closing almost all of the distance between them.

Roy lifted his head to meet Riza's stare. "I-"

The sound of a doorknob being attempted to turn echoed through the nearly silent room. After a few more tries of getting in, a rhythm of knocking occurred from the other side of the wooden door. "You guys alright? Why is the door locked? I'm back with the cereal!" Maes' voice flowed from the hallway as Riza and Roy exchanged worried glances. Roy quickly grabbed Riza's clothes on the floor, and put them on the bathroom counter.

"Change quickly," he said before shutting the door behind Riza. Roy walked to the door of the hotel, unlocked the doorknob and swung the door open for a confused Maes.

"I don't know what you guys were doing, but I don't really care at the moment," Maes started as he rushed to the kitchen. He placed the bags of cereal and a few other snacks on the kitchen counter. "What exactly were you guys doing?" He inquired as Riza exited the bathroom as she fixed the hem of her shirt.

"Riza just got a bit paranoid, since it's late and all, so we locked the door," Roy stumbled, looking nervously at Riza.

"Yes, that was all. Sorry, Maes." Riza began putting away the cereal onto their respective shelves as she apologized.

"It's alright, at least nothing happened to you guys while I was gone," Maes said with a large yawn following. "Why don't we all go to bed? We have training tomorrow." Maes gathered his pajamas and went into the bathroom to change.

"Sounds good," Roy agreed as he slipped under the sheets on his side of the bed.

Riza folded back her sheets and laid beneath them. She pulled the sheets back over her shoulders, then stretched her arms to the table between the beds to set the alarm for the morning.

Maes walked out of the bathroom and threw his clothes onto the floor, adding to his pile of his random belongings. After putting his glasses in their case, and onto the table, he immediately got underneath the sheets and rolled over so he was facing away from the other two. "Night, guys," he muttered as he placed a hand over his yawn.

"Good night, Maes," Roy replied as he laid on his back, his eyes darting across the ceiling. _I can't believe she just asked me to burn her back! There's no way I can do that and not feel terrible or guilty that I caused her that much pain._

"Night, Maes," Riza mimicked as she flicked off the lamp.

Roy closed his eyes and felt his muscles relax more than they have for a long while. This was the first night in the past month when he had gone to bed early enough to give him at least five hours of sleep before a day of training. _It'll be nice to not be distracted from the training anymore...or for a while at least._

"Hey, Roy?" Riza whispered, hoping that Roy hadn't fallen asleep yet.

"Yeah?"

"No one else can know."

* * *

><p>AN: So, are you all satisfied? :) I hope that this was to you guys' liking...I would hate to write an awful chapter after nearly three months of not updating. DX That would be horrendous! Okay...maybe not _THAT _bad, but...eh. It would be kinda not awesome. 3

I also want to tell you something: I will start to be drawing fan art for each chapter for each of my fanfictions! :D So, please check my DeviantArt (link to my dA is on my profile) to see when I post them! ^^

I'll update again asap! Love you all, and hope you all have a wonderful Christmas! ;D

~Dolphinz514


	16. Too Far

_A/N: Hey guys! :D I FINALLY updated! :D I can't believe I've put this off for so long! I apologize greatly! I've wanted to update so bad in the past, but with school and projects, and my busy schedule, and me just being flat out lazy, I've never got around to updating. DX I started writing the chapter like...2-4 months ago, and today thought "You know what? Imma crack down and finish this! :D" Soooo I DID! :D But anyways, without a much longer stall, I hope you guys enjoy the chapter!_

_~Dolphinz514_

* * *

><p>Chapter 16:<p>

Too Far

Roy opened his eyes then quickly shut them again, shielding them against the light seeping through the crack of the curtains. He sat up, rubbing his eyes and noticed that no one else was awake yet. The alarm hadn't even gone off. Deciding he had about twenty minutes to kill, Roy pulled on a jacket and some shoes, and left their room. He headed down the hallway, wrapped in his thoughts. _How can she ask me to burn her tattoo off her back? Does she not know what that does to me? I couldn't live with knowing that I harmed her, especially if it's for my own selfish reasons. I wish she knew how I am looking for another way to do it...but there is no other way. No one else can know the secret; no one else, other than me. That is why I have to do it, but...I just can't-_

"Roy!" A cheeky voice called from down the hallway. Roy stopped and turned to see someone running towards him.

"Ashley? What are you doing here?"

"Well, I figured that you guys would be up this early, so I thought that I'd walk to the base with Maes," Ashley answered, smiling brightly. "Is he up yet?"

"No, he's not. Sorry." Roy scratched his head. "But he might be in a little bit. He likes to sleep in when he can."

"Cool. I'll just wait, then. Or I can go with you?" Ashley suggested. "Where are you going, anyways?"

"Well," Roy started, looking down the hallway in the direction he was walking in. "I don't really know...I was just going to go for a walk. Yesterday was eventful, so I just need to clear my head."

"Oh...anything I can help you with?"

Roy flinched, realizing what he had just unintentionally said, and quickly turned back to his friend. "No!" he coughed. "I mean, uh, no thanks. I can handle it."

"Whatever you say, Roy." The brunette shoved her hands down her pockets. "Well, before you go on your walk, can I ask you something?"

"Um, sure. What is it?"*

"Well," Ashley mumbled nervously, looking down and shuffling her feet a bit. "I was wondering if Maes has said anything about me?"

"What exactly do you mean?"

"Like, has he talked about me in a nice way, or even mentioned anything about possibly liking me at all?" Ashley finally met Roy's gaze, blushing a bit. "I really like him, so I was just curious."

"Oh, I see," Roy chuckled. "Yeah, actually, he has. I don't remember exactly what he said, but I do know that he likes you. I think, if I recall this correctly, he said something about asking you to a party of some sort?"

"Really?" Ashley's blue-green eyes shone. "He must mean the party that's going on at the club near the military base!"

"There's a club by the base? Why does that signal a red flag?" Roy joked.

"No one catches us, but technically, we're not really supposed to be in there. But who cares?" Ashley clapped her hands together. "Now I can't wait!" She began to run back towards the direction she came from. "Thanks, Roy! See you later!"

"Maes, what are you getting yourself into?" Roy said to himself as he watched the girl he was just talking to. Turning around he headed down different flights of stairs, then out of the hotel doors and into the brisk morning air. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, feeling refreshed. He looked down both ways of the sidewalk, and eventually chose to just cross the street and head towards a small park about a block down the road.

_Party, huh?_ He thought, walking slowly down the light path of the park. The greenery was beautiful at this early hour; a dark green and covered with dew. He stared at a small bush with little berries as he continued walking, lost in thought. _Maybe…Riza would like to go…Yeah, I'll ask her._ Roy smiled to himself, shoving his hands in his pocket. _Hopefully she'll want to go…with me nonetheless. I've known her forever, why wouldn't she say "yes"? But…perhaps I'll be asking her as more of a date than just friends…_

Roy looked at the ground as he walked, his feet sluggish from lack of sleep as he dragged his shoes over the dirt. A few rocks kicked away from him here and there as he kept thinking. _No one else can know…_ he repeated in his head, now thinking about last night again. "Dammit!" he yelled out loud, no one else around him to hear. His mind was completely torn apart with over-thinking the scenario that happened last night. He knew he'd have to memorize the pattern eventually, since that's what his goal has been for so long. He never thought there would be a cost for doing so…

He sat on a large rock, looking over at their motel across the street. "Riza…" he whispered, before leaning forward and putting his face in his hands, rubbing it somewhat aggressively, almost as if he could erase what he'd learned last night. He sighed heavily, sitting up to lean back against a small tree. It was too late; he already knew the secret, and now had to fix it.

_I'm not being fair,_ Roy thought, sitting up with a pensive expression. _All our lives, she's been there for me, and has hardly asked for anything. I was the one asking her and Maes for help with my goal to become a mastered Flame Alchemist, and Riza has done exactly that. She gave me more than I could have imagined, in fact…_ He ran a hand through his hair and stood up slowly, staring intently at the motel. _And now that she has asked me for _one_ thing…I refuse to do it for her… _"How ridiculous," Roy said aloud to himself, mentally smacking himself across the head for being selfish. Yes, he didn't want to harm Riza, but this would protect her, too. If anyone knew about the secret, they could harm Riza to get it from her, if it wasn't properly taken care of...burning it was the only option.

Fixing the collar on his jacket, he walked hurriedly back to the motel, walking up the stairs. Passing Maes and Ashely on the way, he smiled, saying "See you guys in a bit," before continuing on his way to their room. He opened the door and walked inside, seeing Riza sitting on the bed as she put on her combat boots. "Roy?"

The brunette stared at her, his ebony eyes certain and promising. He closed the door and sat down next to Riza, resting his hand on her thigh in reassurance. "Okay…" he said softly, looking up into her chocolate eyes. "I'll do it."

Roy and Riza walked down the hallway together, laughing and talking like they had when they were younger. It was easy being with her; he could really be himself, as cheesy as it sounds. They turned into the room that had all the beginning alchemists, as well as other new military members, and the room was filled with the buzz of conversation about the party that night.

"Roy!" Alex shouted upon seeing his dark-haired friend entering the room. "You're going to the party, right?"

"What, this guy?" Maes interrupted, putting an arm around Roy's shoulder. "This guy is a party _animal._ Of course he's going to the party."

Roy laughed, and patted Maes' chest. "Party animal? Giving me labels already?" He looked over at Alex. "Sure, I'll go. We all could use a bit of relaxation right? We've been working hard!"

Rolling her eyes, Riza smiled and walked over to talk to her friend Maria. "Hey, you going?"

Maria smiled. "Of course I am! I'm going with Alex and Jean, actually."

"You're going with them both?" Rebecca asked, walking up to stand by the other two ladies in the room. "Maria, why didn't you ask Jean?"

"Because he's my friend! It'd be awkward if I asked him to go with me…"

Riza just laughed, folding her arms as she watched Rebecca slightly interrogate Maria.

"Oh pfft, don't give me that bull crap," Rebecca teased, putting an arm around Maria's shoulder. "You like him more than friends, yeah? Ask him."

"What? More than friends? No…well…I guess kinda, but still!" Maria put her hands up defensively. "I can't ask him. Fraternization, remember?"

Riza looked at Maria. _That's right…_ she thought. _I forgot about that rule…_ "Well, if you're going as friends, it'll be fine, right?"

"As friends, though? I mean she likes him," Rebecca encouraged, looking back at Maria. "You guys aren't gonna like make out and get married or something. It's totally fine just going on a date." She smiled and patted Maria's back before walking away. "If you don't, I will!"

Maria pouted slightly at Rebecca, folding her arms in protest. "I guess what she's saying does make sense…"she said, looking at the ground. "Just don't let it go too far." She smiled and looked up at Riza. "I…I think I'll ask him." Smiling widely still, she turned to go talk to Jean.

Riza smiled at her friend and watched her talk to the taller blonde. He smiled in return while talking to Maria, and after a bit of their conversation, it was obvious that Maria was asking him to go with her, due to her nervous behavior and fidgety motions. Jean smiled wider, agreeing to go with her. Smiling to herself still, Riza was happy that she was able to go with Jean. Feeling a body next to her, she jumped slightly, and looked to her right to see it was Roy.

"Are you going to go?" He asked, smiling gently.

Riza rubbed the back of her neck, looking at the ground. "I'm not sure…parties aren't exactly my thing…" she reminded, laughing quietly.

"Come on, it'll be fun." Roy patted her back as he reassured her. "Go with me."

Riza sat up and looked at Roy, raising an eyebrow. "What?"

Roy blushed slightly and rubbed his own neck, as he repeated, but in a question, "Go with me?" He stared at her nervously. "To the party."

After a moment of thinking it over, she smiled and leaned against him, bumping shoulders. "Sure." She looked up to Roy through her brown lashes, their gazes meeting. He felt her face flush a bit and she looked back at the ground, still smiling. "Sounds like fun."

_Is he asking me on a date…? _Riza asked herself, fidgeting her hands nervously. _I mean… _She glanced up at him. _I…I do like him…so much, but it can't happen…fraternization…_ She frowned slightly, looking over at the opposite wall as she thought. Eventually, she smiled again with reassurance set in her mind and heart. _It'll be fine. Just…don't let it go too far._

* * *

><p><em>AN: Well?! :D Did you guys like it? Sorry it's a bit shorter; I really wanted to make a longer chapter as an apology for my absence and lack of updating, but I wanted to save the excitement of the party for the NEXT chapter. :3 So yeah! Next chatper=party! WOO!_

_What did you guys think? :D Review and let me know! Thanks for liking my story!_

_~Dolphinz514_


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